The actual cost saving is misleading. A public sector employee returns £100 in community charge, £110 car tax, £500 tax on petrol, £110 tv license plus £4000 in PAYE and national insurance. Say approximatly £6000. Add VAT to the remaining the government recoups about 50-60% of the wages back. From the figure above a saving of 30-40% is less than this. The NHS may save money from their budgetary perspective, but the Chancellor looses money from the government perspective. On top of this there is the chance the unemployeed public sector worker may need job seeker or similar allowances, until they find another job. The overall picture is no cost savings and extra expense to the government.

Louis Roberts, Newcastle, UK

There's a fundamental conflict in the article of 9th Feb: on the one hand the leader states "NHS to export 60% of accounting jobs to India...", yet goes on to say: "...the constraint is that we cannot move jobs to India at the expense of shedding jobs in the UK." This is about cutting jobs in the UK. Its not as if staff can relocate to India and have their terms protected. No TUPE there? It would be complete abandonment of UK politicians' duty of care towards their citizens. Its high time politicians protected people who are already poorly paid in UK terms from such outrageous exploitation across the UK economy. Public bodies should be compelled to lead by example and demonstrate best practice, whether or not UK legislation already exists. Those at the top of the UK earnings tree, doctors, lawyers, newspaper editors and some politicians among them should also reflect on what it would be like for them if they struggled to make ends meet then were faced with financial ruin.

Robert MacKinnon, Perth, UK

Disgrace! not to the fact that the jobs are being outsourced but to the fact that humans still belive in racisim! This is an era of global competitiveness....that is survival of the fittest!
And in this case - Indians are the best solutions!
The Indians have the knowledge and power to successfulle implement the jobs which are being outsourced to them. I guess the board members of all the big-shot companies are not fool enought to do the so called - 'injustice'.

J, Delhi, India

People posting comments here should realize that outsourcing jobs to India is against the law in UK if it is done by laying off people in Britain. So all this hue and cry about discrimination and summoning democracy to protest against NHS and Xansa is pure and unadultrated illitracy and ignorance. Everyone in NHS, LyoldsTSB, British Gas, Norwich Union, British Airways, BBC, Thames Water, PowerGen etc cannot be fools that they have adopted this model and are reaping its benefits for years now.
Top parliamentarians and top brass of NHS and Xansa surely have better brains than people protesting here and that is why they are where they are. The fact is that Britain is saving millions of pounds through outsourcing, which is "your tax" that you are shouting about. And if they save millions in UK, they spend millions IN THE UK to provide better facilties and infrastructure that people in Britain enjoy.

Xerxes, Pune, India

This is an absolute disgrace I cannot for the lif e of me understand the why this decission has been taken. I do not believe that the NHS will get a better quality and cheaper service in India. I have been on the end of queries with these people for my utility bills and I must say it is very difficult to get a satisfactory answer when they cannot speak english even. If the Government wish to cut costs then reduce the salaries of Chief Executives and the number of Managers. The biggest cost recently has been agenda for change this must have cost millions, and all kept ever so quiet from the public.

Irene, Stockport, United Kingdom

Short-sighted, parochial and racist - but worst of all the comments here show a complete lack of understanding of basic economics.
Far more many jobs are lost to improvements in technology, megers and acquisitions, reorganisaiotns and businesses going bankrupt than off-shoring.
The trouble is change in the short term hurts - ask the Luddites!
Off-shoring is a very visible aspect of globalisation which has directly improved the living standards of everyone.

Dazza, Southampton, UK

The NHS may do well out of this, but what about the country as a whole. The loss of jobs overseas is becoming an avalanche. If this continues, higher unemployment will lead to greater social problems in the UK.

Will these not cost the country more than any possible savings on salaries they might make?

Andrew, London,

Is it not the taxes of working people that pay for the NHS. When there is no work left in this country we could then end up with hospitals full of doctors and patients and still a system that is totally broke with no money for the treatment beyond the diagnoses of the illness i.e. a lack of loyalty to ones own.

Alan Grocock, huntingdon, cambs

Maybe the Public should consider outsourcing the Houses of Parliament to India. It would certainly save money for the long suffering tax-payer. And I'm pretty sure the Indians would be more productive than our bloated MPs and Lords.

James Foster, Welwyn Garden , Herts

Its disgraceful that the chief executive of Xansa says that 'people will be displaced by globalisation - we have to get our heads round it'.
Displacement means unemployment. Its no use trying to mince words. The bottom line is peoples jobs in Britain will be lost. Maybe if we could replace the Xansa chief Executive, the Health secretary and the Prime Minister with cheaper alternatives from India, we wouldnt get such crass insensitive quotes from people who should know better.

Jeff Norman, Yarm, UK

I feel this is a disgrace on the Government's failure to run NHS efficiently.
It is about time the top managers, directors and ministers jobs are outsourced to India, it will make huge savings for the Public and Private companies in the UK and better profits for the share holders because paying £100,000 a year salary to a top manager or director in UK would cost around £25,000 to £ 35,000 a year in India.
It's time to move NHS Management and Directors jobs to India not Administrators. This would save over £65,000 per post compared to £6,000 per administration post.
We definately need an early election.

Nilesh Dodhia, Croydon, UK

In the current, practical situation where most "customers" hate the ignorance of non UK Call Centres, how can NHS propose this move? Many commercial organisations - including most sensible banks - have recognised that it just doesn't work . Do we have a parliament say? Nobody outside outside UK understands the local situation - let alone where Blackburn, Devon or East Yorkshie is. Let us start a democratic process against this stupid move - it is our money - not Patricia Hewitt's.

Gordon Ewan, Woking, UK

The NHS is funded out of my (and everyone else's) taxes. I would MUCH rather my money went to pay the wages of people in this country than any other.

P Robbins, cornwall,

This is nonsense. Why cannot we use more technology here? My wife a staff nurse, has to handwrite her time sheet each month which then has to be checked and signed by her sister which is then sent to the head of department for further checking prior to being sent down to the payroll department where no doubt it is checked yet again and then manually entered on to a computer. This seems a total waste of time when with a reader attached to the computer she could swipe her ID Badge or fingerprint scanning to record arrival time and leaving time.

Let technology do the work and leave nurses to nurse, managers to manage.

Philip Bell, Anglesey, Wales

My daughter is one of these 'statistics' in an area of the country where employment is scarce and decent jobs are desperately needed. I feel very angry about this Government's 'I'm alright Jack' attitude. Our youngsters are being treated in an appalling manner when they are simply trying to support themselves. They are being used as employment 'fodder' by poor employers using and abusing them with inadequate working conditions, substandard pay and a Government supported policy of dumping them at a moments notice in favour of FOREIGN workers. I was born in this country, have paid my taxes all my life and have used the services available to me in a responsible manner costing this country nothing. In short, the perfect citizen. Am I proud to be British? - No I am not. ....Will I ever vote Labour again? - No I will not!

judy, liverpool,

What depressing news. Thousands of entry level jobs and millions in UK taxpayers money being exported abroad by this terrible government.
And what's the lost value in the UK workers who will no longer be trained and upskilled? Presumably they can flip burgers or sign on instead.
Still, it will be good for a handfull of Xansa shareholders, and Blair and Brown will be buying influence in India with British workers jobs.

paul n, sheffield, uk

how does one avoid global warming, if you keep giving work to India ?

Mr Nitin Solanki, leicester, UK

I assume any NHS job that can be outsourced to India could also be done in a depressed region in the UK. Thus £20,000 spent in the UK should immediately return £10,000 in TAX, NI, VAT on spending, council tax and the further taxes gained by increased spending in the local economy. In regions of high unemployment, perhaps 30% of employees might come off the unemployment register saving the Government say £10,000 per year or say £3,000 per year on average per £20,000. Thus the net cost to the Government of £20,000 of work done in a depressed region in the UK is probably only about £7,000. Therefore they must save at least 65% of UK costs for this outsourcing proposal to break even and this is without taking in to account the social advantages of bringing prosperity to our less prosperous regions. Mr. Blair, his Government and the Civil Service have totally lost the plot.

Paul Rogers, Parker, CO, USA

If a private business can get work done abroad at a 50% saving, then they save 50%. If the Government gets work done abroad at a 50% saving, they gain nothing because the Tax & NI and other taxes on employees and their places of work and their UK spending amount to at least 50% of the cost.

It might be be better to export jobs rather than bringing in low skilled immigrants to do them here with the level of overcrowding we have. However, with the borders wide open, it is an economic nonsense to export jobs. Far better to invest in systems to improve productivity. This Labour Government is economically illiterate. About 50% of the cost of anything wholly produced in Britain goes straight back to the Government, and much of the rest helps strengthen the UK producer, the Government should only buy from aboard where the cost is well under 30% of the UK cost. In fact, it appears this Government will buy aboard without even the slightest consideration for UK Business.

Paul Rogers, Parker, CO, USA

hi!u brits its almost laughable the condition your country is in at this moment first .your pride.the british steel taken over by an indian whos announced here that he is goinging to kickout majority of the brish workers out to make corus more competative.then u have terrorists in your contry which the british people and Government had traditionally shown an indiffrent attitude to.is facing a taste of the music of the frankestein that they created and espoused over the years.and now more people in your governent services are going to be thrown out....and lost against spain too.shamful.but buck up!

moba, kzp, india

Absolute lunacy. May have short term savings for the NHS but cost the taxpayer far more in the long term via the benefits system. And what sort of example is the government setting other employers!!
More joined up thinking needed from government ministers but I'll doubt we get it from this lot!

Marion, Scotland,

What is the future of Britain, its culture and its people, if even its own government prefers to "go elsewhere" for its employment needs. If the government uses our money to employ people in another country, we lose the revenue from taxes and national insurance and inevitably create more of a social problem as those who might have been employed in the NHS must instead require benefits from the very state that has given their jobs away. In a world climate where the UK industry is already threatened by countless job losses due to foreign competition, where is the ethical stand from the government to support its own country and encourage the continued success of the industry still left? By giving away its people's employment prospects the Labour government is foolishly putting the future of our workforce at risk.

angela, Middlesbrough, UK

No doubt the healthservice unions that are having their members jobs taken overseas will still give donations to the Labour Party. The healthservice unions don't appear at all worried about the thousands of their members being sacked by the present Labour government.

If I give you millions of pounds a year from our members will I get named in the New Years honours list Tony?

Dan Bonera, London,

While it is fully understandable in narrow cost terms, It does not look good for the future of low-paid, low skill clerical work in the UK when even the (Labour) government is outsourcing to India. The question is, what will those who would have done this work in the UK do now? Are they to be retrained for higher value work? Can they do it? If they are retrained will that work be outsourced too? There are important social implications here that need to be understood as it will not be satisfactory to save money in the NHS while moving a lot of people out of work and onto the miserly benefits system. Governments need to take a wider view than just short term cost saving for our desperate health managers.

Colin, Shrewsbury, UK

John Hutton forgot to say that it will also pay for a big rise in MP's perks and salaries. It is bad enough that businesses are consigning British workers to the scrapheap in their immoral quest for larger and larger profits, now the Government is also jumping on the bandwagon. Perhaps it has not entered their microscopic minds that the more people in the UK they consign to the employment dustbin the less money there is for them to spend on thier companies products. This obscene practice has got to stop before the ordinary public are homeless and jobless and the Elite turn this country into a 21st Century version of the Dickensian Era. It is tax payers money that pays for the NHS and therefore it is only right and just that British Workers are employed to do the work. The UK government is there to look after the interests of the British Public not to Export their jobs to other countries.

Jeffrey E. Cox, Conifer Grove, New Zealand