1,270 jobs to go as Leeds and Sheffield councils feel cash squeeze

Leeds City Council plans to cut 1,500 jobs this year – 100 more than anticipated – the vast majority being due to go by March 31. In total, the council aims to cut 3,000 jobs over four years.

Sheffield City Council also announced additional cuts, with a further 270 jobs to go during the next financial year. That will take the total cuts to nearly 800, 10 per cent of the council's workforce. The authority is facing cuts of 215m over the next three years and 80m of savings are required in 2011-12.

Unions have said the job losses are to be expected given the severity and speed of the Government's cuts and warned the impact on the wider Yorkshire economy could be devastating.

The GMB union released the findings of a new study which claimed the number of jobs axed or threatened by local authorities nationwide has topped 150,000.

Leeds City Council leader Keith Wakefield admitted that services "would inevitably be hit" but said the authority would do everything it could to protect vulnerable people in the city.

Coun Wakefield said: "When you are looking at cuts of 90m which we have to make in one year, you can make all the efficiency savings, cut the back office functions, cut communications, cut senior management – all of which we have – and you still won't get to that figure.

"That is why around 1,100 will be gone by next month, and we are looking at another 400 at least by next year.

"With the front-loading of the cuts and the scale of the cuts I just cannot deny that it will impact on services.

"However we will be doing everything possible to protect the vulnerable members of our society and the services they rely on."

The council is expected to reveal tomorrow its detailed budget proposals following a consultation with council tax-payers on their priorities for the city. Key services for the elderly, for children and vulnerable people are expected to get most protection from cuts.

The council is also looking to cut senior management costs by a fifth over the next two years, partly through restructuring along with retirement and voluntary severance as it tries to meet a target of saving more than 150m over the next four financial years.

Coun Wakefield admitted that finding savings was going to get increasingly difficult with so many staff already accepting voluntary redundancy or early retirement and could not rule out compulsory redundancies in the future.

Sheffield City Council announced yesterday that a further 270 jobs were going in addition to the 300 staff who have already taken voluntary redundancy or early retirement. In addition around 200 vacancies at the council will not be filled. Leader Paul Scriven said the number of redundancies at Sheffield Council were much smaller than the "wild figures" which had been issued by the trade unions and added that half the jobs to go would be managerial and professional posts rather than frontline service staff.

Coun Scriven said: "We said that we would protect the frontline services that local people tell us they value the most and that's exactly what we plan to do. However, at a time when the money has run out in the public sector we have to contemplate reducing our workforce.

"I understand the effects redundancy can have on individuals and families, that is why we have been working hard to keep the number in Sheffield as low as possible."

The GMB has claimed that 150,000 jobs are under threat nationwide with most authorities having given notice that they plan to axe vacant posts and seek volunteers for early retirement and redundancy. Some of the jobs have already been cut and many councils are meeting in the next few weeks to finalise redundancy plans.

General secretary Paul Kenny said: "Coupled with announcements of big job losses in the private sector these 150,059 jobs under threat at 260 councils is really bad news. The figure for jobs under threat in the public sector keeps going up.

"The Government spending plans not only threatens these 150,059 council posts and job losses in the rest of the public sector but there are additional job losses in the voluntary sector funded by public sector grants. Frontline services for the most vulnerable people in our society are being affected by cuts of this scale."