The Trades Union Congress (TUC) have attacked Conservative proposals to cull quangos and cut the Union Learning Fund (ULF) saying it would ‘deny a generation of British workers access to education and a chance to improve their lives.’

The radical Tory plans would see 162 quangos and six government units scrapped.

Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation, John Redwood says the cuts would free up billions of pounds for spending on front line public services.

Redwood said: “Tony Blair has forgotten the interests of taxpayers, and has broken the pledges he made. Far from improving public services, spending taxpayers’ money on quangos has led only to more bureaucrats, more regulation and higher taxes. Rather than just talking about slimming government, the Conservatives will take action within six months. We will abolish dozens of quangos, and transfer functions from others where they are still needed to elected local and national government.”

Among the major quangos targeted for abolition are the Strategic Health Authorities, the Office for Fair Access, and the regional Assemblies and other regional bodies set up by Labour.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said of the plans to cut the ULF:

“In the last year alone the fund has trained over 60,000 British workers who had no or few qualifications. The majority of these people were let down at school thanks to the failed education policies of the last Tory administration.

“Union learning is going from strength to strength and improving the lives of the thousands of people who are on courses across the country. By improving their skills these workers are able to seek promotion and are prepared for the high-skill demands of the modern economy, especially in sectors such as manufacturing.”

Tory estimates predict that the radical slimming down of government would save taxpayers over £4 billion – enough to pay for over 200,000 nurses, or 150,000 police officers.