Council to axe more top jobs in bid to find huge savings

York Council’s cabinet is next week set to agree to cut three assistant director posts from the current 16, in a bid to save £250,000 a year.

The announcement follows on from a major restructuring in July 2010, when the number of assistant directors at the council were slashed from 21.

If the changes to the authority’s structure are approved, four new portfolios, each headed by a director, would be created.

The plans have been announced as the latest forecasts revealed yesterday show the council will need to find savings of £12m in 2012/13 and £10m in 2013/14 – a total of £22m – in addition to the £21m of savings agreed in February for 2011/12.

Coun James Alexander, the Labour leader of York Council, said: “The council is facing a financially challenging period due to Government funding cuts and I recognise that we need to do all we can to secure essential services for vulnerable people.

“This is why I have asked the chief executive to look at how we can deliver our priorities in a different way whilst reducing the senior management pay bill.

“I would like to pay tribute to staff across the council who continue to maintain a high standard of work and commitment to our communities despite the ongoing financial challenges and uncertainty.”

The four new director levels being proposed are customer and business support services, communities and neighbourhoods, children and education and city and environment services.

The remaining 13 assistant directors would work under them, in addition to seconded senior representatives from NHS North Yorkshire and York, who will support the council’s new responsibilities for public health, which come into effect from April 2012.

As part of the changes, cabinet will also be asked to support plans to further develop the council’s workforce, recruiting apprentices annually, providing mentoring and coaching opportunities for all staff, and involving staff further in the improvement and innovation of service delivery.

The council claims the changes are necessary in order to better meet the changing pressures on the local authority and to protect key services.

Kersten England, chief executive, of York Council, said: “We know that our staff are our greatest asset and will be instrumental in delivering the council’s priorities so greater investment in staff development at all levels and encouraging a less hierarchical, more innovative way of working will be vital to enable us to support the city and its communities.”

Earlier this year it was revealed as many as 200 York Council staff who use the authority’s vehicles to commute to work could lose the benefit in a bid to save tens of thousands of pounds.