Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson hopes controversial reforms to the RUC will create an effective and representative police service.

He was speaking before he gives the government's official response in the House of Commons to proposals by former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten.

The Patten report proposing a dramatic shake-up in policing, angered unionists, who accused the former Tory minister of tampering with an institution that had lost hundreds of officers in its fight against terrorism.

But Mr Mandelson is expected to approve most of the 175 proposals, including the renaming of the RUC to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

He is also likely to give an indication of the timings for implementing changes.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Mandelson said the RUC was "bigger than its name".

"What it does, how it works in an effective way in Northern Ireland, but also how it can and must become more representative of the community as a whole, are the most important things for the future.

"These changes are going to involve pain for the whole RUC family, and I don't want to seem to add insult to injury.

"But I don't believe it is possible to avoid making all these changes, including to the name, if we are going to get the sort of policing we want in Northern Ireland which is, as I say, both effective and representative, indeed both of those things are interdependent."

Mr Mandelson also underlined his support for the force's officers.

"I tend to sympathise (with the view) that a little bit more respect for the sacrifices of the past and those members of the RUC who have lost their lives could have been shown in the Patten report.

"But having said that, I agree broadly with its analysis and I agree broadly with the approach they are taking."

Another recommendation, such as the issue of the force's badge and the creation of District Policing Partnership Boards, are thought to be still under consideration.

Ulster Unionist Security spokesman Ken Maginnis believes the boards will be given the go-ahead but says it would be a "recipe for disaster".

David Burnside, who is a member of the Ulster Unionist ruling council, has described the planned changes as "revolting".

He said the party leadership was "in doubt" over attitudes to the Patten report.

On Tuesday, Mr Mandelson, said he hoped discussions between the government and RUC representatives would address officers' concerns over the reforms with sympathy and generosity.

He was speaking after government officials had held discussions with RUC staff associations at Stormont House in Belfast.

The talks tackled the costs of implementing the raft of radical reforms to policing outlined in the report.

Afterwards, a spokesman for the Police Association, which represents most RUC officers, said the first stage of the talks had been about voluntary severance arrangements.

The size of the force is expected to be cut substantially, but there are fears that the scaling down of the number of police officers could have a significant impact on the local economy.

The Patten report, which was published last September, also includes controversial proposals for changes to RUC insignia and uniform.

Unionists were outraged by many of Patten's recommendations, but Sinn Fein said they did not go far enough and demanded the complete disbandment of the RUC.

The report was commissioned under the Good Friday Agreement, which paved the way for the creation of Northern Ireland's first power-sharing executive for 25 years.