Council Cuts Threaten 25,000 Jobs

A recent BBC survey has found that ten per cent of council jobs in England could be under threat in the next five years.

The forecast is based on a survey of 49 local authorities with a joint combined workforce of 256,000, suggesting 25,000 job cuts. Spending cuts of between five and twenty per cent were anticipated by just over two-thirds of the councils questioned.

Caroline Spelman, the shadow local government secretary laid the blame solely on the government for the looming cuts set to take place.

Councils across the UK have stated that they will have to make cuts as they prepare for central government funding to be slashed. Libraries, roads, nurseries, the arts and leisure are most at risk of cutbacks. Areas that appear to remain safe include services for the homeless and children’s social services.

The Local Government Association who represents local authorities suggests that local councils have been battling the effects of the recession for more than a year. Chairman and spokeswomen for the association, Dame Margaret Eaton said that 'sources of income have reduced dramatically at a time when more and more people are turning to their local council to help them through tough times' .

She continued, stating that tough decisions would have to be made, but 'local councils will do everything they can to protect front-line services'.

John Denham, communities’ secretary argued that local councils which are planning to cut jobs in 2010 were not doing it because of a shortage of government funding or the economy. 'They are doing it because of choice, the medium-term finances are inventible going to be tighter' he said, but 'local councils should be able to protect their front-line service offerings so long as they make the necessary efficiency savings behind the scenes'.

Commenting on the recent BBC survey, PM Gordon Brown said that government had given an extra 40 per cent in funding and resources to local councils in the last ten years. Brown continues, stating that funding has risen by 4% this year and that he simply doesn't accept the figures being quoted.

Many of the councils that responded to the survey conducted by the BBC were reluctant to reveal job cut plans. However, eight authorities - Leeds, City of Bradford, Sheffield, Kirklees, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Stoke-on-Trent and Lincolnshire all stated that they were looking to cut 1,000 or more jobs within the next five years.

Birmingham City Council plans to make savings of £69m within the next financial year, this could result in up to 2,000 job losses. Shropshire Council also stated that it plans to cut over 1,000 positions over the coming years.

Job Centre Vacancies says: Such huge job losses will not only affect the people directly employed by the council but also the people who depend on the services. Despite being out of the recession, it appears that the effects are still lingering. Local authorities seem to have taken the brunt of excessive government spending, offsetting their costs with cut backs in the public sector.

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