Sefton Council could cut 1000 jobs to make savings

Staff at Sefton Council were warned of 1,000 job cuts this week, as the impact of last week's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) begins to take its toll.

Earlier this year the local authority's chief executive, Margaret Carney, estimated the council would need to make £53million in savings as the Coalition Government aims to get rid of the country's debt, but she said on Monday (October 25) she now believes it is the “minimum” that will need to be saved.


Although Mrs Carney said the council won't know specific details until the end of November to the start of December, chancellor George Osbourne announced last Wednesday (October 20) that councils would be given grants to support a 2010-2011 Council Tax freeze, as well as extra money for adult social care, but confirmed local government will need to make savings of 28% over the next four years.

Mrs Carney told The Champion: “It seems the Government is asking for a lot of those savings to be made over the next two years. What I'd like to have this financial year, is a clear implementation plan in place for those two years.”

Also in the CSR, it was announced that half a million public sector jobs across the country would need to be cut, and Mrs Carney said: "Sefton Council may have to lose 1,000 jobs to meet the savings, I believe we are in that realm."

The council chief circulated a message to all employees this week, saying: ”You may have heard that the Government has estimated that 500,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector while the Government implements the actions it considers necessary to reduce national debt. Unfortunately, I have to tell you that, it is possible Sefton Council may have to lose around 1,000 jobs to meet the savings - a figure which will change as we get further details on the spending review. We will of course continue to explore all options that minimise these job losses but we must continue our preparations to reduce spending and put all our effort into minimising the impact on the communities of Sefton.

“Last week’s cuts to local government make up one of the biggest elements in the public sector announcements and we must be clear that they will have an impact on services and staff. We still have very difficult decisions to make but we will also continue to look at new and different ways we can deliver services to our communities through these tough times.”

Speaking to The Champion, she explained the effects of the huge savings would not go unnoticed in communities and said: “You can't take away £53m and not expect it to be noticed. We are a low cost council and a lot of the inefficiency has already been driven out.”

In response to the announcement of 1,000 potential job cuts, Unison's Sefton branch posted on its website thatthe “Branch Executive Committee of UNISON Stewards will meet this Wednesday to decide its next steps”.

Meanwhile a programme of savings will be discussed by cabinet members tomorrow (October 28).

Services including libraries, public toilets, swimming pools and leisure centers are among those targeted in the list of recommended reductions totalling £2.7m.