The government has been told to block proposals to offshore jobs, with a warning that taking jobs away from the UK could threaten economic recovery.

Writing for Publicservice.co.uk, North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon expressed particular concerns over Hewlett Packard proposals to offshore up to 200 jobs from their Department for Work and Pensions account. She said the government should block the proposals which would mean moving jobs from Newcastle, Lytham and Sheffield, to Bangalore.

Glindon argued that moving these jobs from the UK would mean lost tax revenue, increased benefit payments, and even data security threats.

“I know that sensitive public data has been lost in the UK but I share wider public unease that such worrying losses may become more frequent as data file storage arrangements become more complex.”

And she criticised recent guidance from the Cabinet Office on offshoring jobs, citing views from one “expert” who described their material as an “offshoring objection handling crib sheet”.