Tobzalp,
TOPS always got the strips and the plan once an acft departed and they religioulsy cross checked the time additions and route information.
In any case, thats all irrelevant. FDC are not licenced to either work a radio or issue clearances and that is the subject of this thread.
If you don't need a licence to issue clearances, then why licence ATCs?
I don't know about organisational expediency. The staff saving is surely negligible when one considers the staff shortfall overall.
I vote for change for changes sake and to put some "at risk component" bonus in the bank for manager X.