UNION leaders attacked the Government last night after it was revealed that up to 100 North-East civil service jobs are to be axed.

The losses will come at the Department for Education and Skills' (DfES) base at Mowden Hall, Darlington.

The cuts have been ordered as part of a national shake-up.

Last night, sources close to Mowden Hall said job losses were imminent, although DfES officials refused to confirm the cuts.

On a black day for the regional economy, Northumbria University also confirmed it is shedding 58 jobs in a bid to "maintain its growth".

The news that cutbacks would be made over the next two years at Mowden Hall ended months of speculation at the site, where 250 people work for the teachers' pensions agency.

And it sparked anger among representatives of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which said the DfES's ability to deliver key Government policies would be seriously affected.

Nationally, the department is to be reduced in size dramatically over the next four years - meaning the loss of 1,460 jobs.

Yesterday's news signalled the first wave of cuts, with about 800 jobs going across the country. A further 610 jobs will have to go in the period from 2006 to 2008.

Terry Hegarty, PCS branch secretary at Mowden Hall, said: "The department has not been able to demonstrate clearly that these cuts will not result in poorer services, longer hours and increased workloads for the staff and extra burdens on schools and local education authorities."

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "It is difficult to see how swingeing cuts in the DfES and other Government departments will not have an adverse affect on service delivery."

The move is ironic, given the Government's recent pledge to move 20,000 civil service jobs out of Whitehall to the regions.

Meanwhile, Northumbria University is cutting jobs in three of its 11 schools.