Cuts loom for Northumberland council staff

Posted by The Journal on Nov 19, 09 09:37 AM in Councils

Thousands of staff across Northumberland will find out on Friday what impact massive council cuts will have on their jobs.

County bosses looking to make savings worth more than £30m a year will order heads of department to call in staff on Friday and explain the difficult choices about to be made.

County Hall, Morpeth

Thousands of staff will be emailed a request to consider taking voluntary redundancy as part of jobs cuts which are expected to see hundreds of staff leave.

Sources contacting The Journal have also warned libraries across Northumberland could be targeted for closure as part of money saving measures.

Staff fear the council budget, due to be set out later this month, will include a council-wide pay freeze and further job losses.

Opposition councillors have warned a pay freeze will take £1.8m out of the county's economy, risking a much greater impact in one of Britain's most sparsely populated areas.

Union leaders are bracing their members for bad news this week as the council struggles to get to grips with huge debt levels while meeting promises to slash spending as a result of the county-wide council merger this year.

Staff are said to be "preparing for the worst " as they await Friday's announcement.

At least seven departmental heads are thought to be calling in senior staff and then informing the rest of the work force about the need for voluntary redundancies.

Last night Labour group leader Grant Davey said he had spoken to many council staff fearing for their jobs.

He said: "The bad news will hit on Friday. We've known it was coming, but I can't help feeling it's premature.

"We don't even know what next year's Government grant will be yet we are telling people their job is at risk.

"What we'll find out on Friday is just how big the cuts are going to be and where they are likely to fall." Mr Davey added that the original cuts, or efficiency savings, of at least £26m over four years, first proposed in the changes which set up the new council, were running alongside the £30m a year savings.

Added to the problems was a council decision to pay off up to £50m of debt.

"They have taken a very adolescent approach to money management, paying off debt then suddenly finding they don't have enough money to do the things they want to do now," Mr Davey said.

"Now we see that libraries, car park pricing and all sorts of other measures are being looked at, as well as people getting called in and told their job might go.

"Scrapping our libraries would be something the Labour group would oppose, and we'll be fighting these job losses when the budget is presented on November 30."

Union leaders have previously warned they would consider strike action if the council goes ahead with proposals to freeze pay awards next year.

While most pay increases are set by the Government, the council annually has the option to move staff up or down within their pay boundaries. The council says a freeze in these increases would save 90 jobs.

Andrew Tebbutt, the council's executive member for corporate resources said Northumberland had to be realistic about the "unprecedented challenges" facing the authority

He said: "The financial situation in the UK means that local authorities must make savings and some of these changes will have an impact on our staff.

"We do need to reduce staffing costs and have come up with a number of proposals that will help to make savings and save jobs.

"Because of the scale of the challenges facing the council we are talking to trade unions and directly to staff about these issues and trying to get as many new ideas as possible.

"We really value the contribution of all our staff which is why we are trying to find creative new solutions that can reduce costs and save jobs."

Car park pricing is one thing being looked at as council bosses look to make £30m of savings