A UNION boss last night branded reported Government cuts as “reckless”, after it emerged the Health Protection Agency (HPA) could be one of 177 taxpayer-funded bodies facing closure.

The quango, which has a major centre at Chilton, near Didcot, provides advice on infectious diseases and environmental hazards for the Government.

About 300 people work at the site.

A leaked paper seen by the Daily Telegraph detailed cuts as the Government looks to save billions of pounds.

The report said 350 bodies would be saved, four would be privatised and 129 merged, while another 94 face being scrapped.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed Whitehall source as saying: “Every quango must not only justify its existence, but its reliance on public money.”

But Mark Ladbrooke, of the Unison Oxfordshire Health union, said: “It is an exceptionally important agency covering disease outbreaks, chemical emergencies and terrorist incidents.

“The Government is trying to grab headlines without thinking about the huge practical side of the organisations”

HPA spokesman Teresa Cash said the agency always knew it faced radical change.

She said an announcement by the Secretary of State for Health indicated the HPA’s work would form part of a new national public health service, but the details will only become clear when the Public Health White Paper is published at the end of this year.

She said: “We are currently working with colleagues in the Department of Health to advise on how the Secretary of State’s objectives can best be met while protecting the key strengths of the agency.”

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “We are not going to comment on the specific details of a leaked document.”