Porton Down secret move

Public Health England (PHE) has been accused of ‘acting in bad faith’ by not informing the trade unions before the announcement that its facilities will be moved from Porton Down to Harlow in Essex.

 
Unite was scathing that the unions, representing the 750-strong workforce at the Wiltshire site, were not alerted to the announcement by the chancellor George Osborne of the ÂŁ350m investment at GlaxoSmithKline facilities in Harlow.

 
With the announcement also impacting the PHE facility in Colindale, north London, the union called on PHE to provide assurances to staff and recognise that many do not want to move to Harlow.

 
Unite is very concerned about the severe disruption to the work/life balance for scientific and technical staff, who face a move to Essex – an area with runaway house prices.

 
The union has also warned about security concerns over the transfer of facilities at Porton Down – the UK centre for research into countering bio-terrorism and deadly diseases – to Essex.

 
In an email to PHE yesterday (September 17), Unite regional officer Dorothy Fogg said that she was extremely disappointed that the Science Hub Sub Group (representing the unions) were not invited and involved in the meetings held then.

 
“This flies directly in the face of partnership working which I believed the trade unions, at least, were working towards,” she wrote. “I must stress that the actions today have seriously damaged my view on the commitment by PHE to partnership working going forward.”

 
The unions were due to be belatedly briefed by PHE today (September 18).

 
“The GSK site in Harlow will have high containment laboratories relatively close to the perimeter,” Fogg continued.

 
Community concerns

 
“The introduction of dangerous pathogens in an urban environment, and the development of the supporting biological investigation services may attract local community concerns and possible wider disruptive measures.

 
“The Porton Down site, near Salisbury, is very remote and has a high-level of security. There must be a question mark over having such a centre right next to a main road in Harlow.

 
“The move from Porton Down and Colindale will break-up decades of expertise and skills that the staff have built up,” Fogg went on to say. “Staff retention at the GSK site may also be a problem due to a greater range of alternative employers in the area, such as Silicon Fen centred on Cambridge.

 
“A significant risk is that a considerable time and money will be spent on training staff, who then choose to leave a public sector organisation for better-paid employment within the private sector.

 
“We are concerned that such a move could lead to the break-up of a world-class scientific and research team who may be attracted by the higher salaries in the Cambridge – M11 – London corridor,” Fogg noted.

 
PHE said that the current timetable envisages Harlow being fully operational by 2024, though there would be a phased transfer of some functions before this, with the earliest moves possible in 2019.