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500 council jobs under threat
Date published: 02 March 2010
AT least 25,000 council jobs across England — including 500 in Oldham — will be under threat in the next three to five years according to a BBC survey.
The grim forecast is based on answers from 49 local authorities, with a combined work force of 256,000, suggesting cuts of 10 per cent.
As councils battle to beat the credit crunch, services such as libraries and nurseries face cuts.
More than 70 per cent of councils that responded to the survey predicted spending cuts of 5-20 per cent.
Roads, libraries and leisure appear to be most at risk while social services for children, services for the homeless and planning look pretty safe.
Councillor Howard Sykes, council leader, said: “The figure of 500 fewer employees is an estimate based upon a realistic assessment on the reduced funding we’re likely to get from central Government over the next five years.
“To put the challenges we’re facing into context, we made £21 million in savings last year and that was only the start. Next year’s budget saves a further £11 million, and looking ahead we estimate a £45 million reduction in spending will be needed over the next three years.
“This won’t be easy but to get through it we need clear budget priorities that invest in the areas that citizens have told us matter to them, their families and neighbourhoods — like tackling crime, improving roads and the wider environment.
“At the same time we will deliver more efficient services by continuing to strip away tiers of management, merge services and work more closely with partners like the NHS and neighbouring authorities.
“We hope to achieve any necessary job cuts without the need for compulsory redundancies and will consult out staff and trade unions throughout this process.”
Comments
This might sound harsh, but why should services for the homeless be protected? By virture of being homeless they are not contributing, generally paying neither income tax or council tax. For me, you could close Oldham Central Library tomorrow. I note nothing has been mentioned about expenditure on biscuits.
21 million in saving and there expenses are still rising, isn’t it about time the parasites stopped feeding on the taxpayers gravy bowl. You can guarantee that the top earners will keep there jobs no how incompetent they are look at the sykes & parker 5-20 million lost in a case that a junior could have won
500 jobs? I can think of 3 names already:
1. Mark Alcock
2. Charlie Parker
3. Howard Sykes
If anyone else would like to add to this list please feel free :-)
This government has created tens of thousands of jobs in the public sector to try to ensure its continued survival.I feel for those who will lose their jobs but this communist style system is unsustainable,better to concentrate on geting our manufacturing base strong again.
How can there be so many job losses?
It isn't the very senior staff who loose their jobs, it's the front line staff who go.
Who does all the work for the absent staff?
No wonder services are so poor.
I would add to the above list;
The people who Charlie Parker brought with him.
The people responsible for the 'Miller' saga.
The people responsible for the Chadderton Health Centre saga.
The people responsible for the unpaid fines.
The Finance Department
The Audit Department
In fact get rid of the whole lot and start again
Is this the 500 Lynne Thompson tried to tell us had already gone? Get rid of the £55,000 mayors car for a start. That gets right on my nerves.
Spike, I trust you realise that Council's collect 97% of Council Tax.
Of course 500 jobs are at risk, the council can't keep finding hundreds of thousands of pounds on useless junk like clocks in the floor, the water feature that never works and the garden that was there for such a short period of time, I blinked and it'd gone. So when people do lose there jobs, look at them useless items in the town centre and remember your efforts weren't in vein.
You could easily streamline HR too, they learn nothing from private sector
Quote “This won’t be easy but to get through it we need clear budget priorities that invest in the areas that citizens have told us matter to them, their families and neighbourhoods" Is Mr Sykes aware of cuts in funding for our elderly families and neighbours?
Mrs C, how would you like it if i said that about your job!!! There are many many council employees who work hard.
hugo_myatt, HR has already had many job losses!!!!
Why abuse the hard workers, it's the people at the top who make the budget decisions not us!!!
Have Your Say
The councils need to think about these problems when writing off the debt of unpaid Council Tax.
By spike @ 02/03/2010 14:59:05