The budget cuts announcements continue.......
On 2 September Leicestershire County Council said it will have to make £70 million of savings over the next four years. No decisions have been taken on where savings will come from, but the Council says they are caused by an expected reduction in Government grant, an intention to hold down Council Tax and higher costs and demands.
Major efficiency savings and significant job losses are expected, but nearly half the cost is likely to come from reductions in services and higher charges. The Council says:
• it has pledged to freeze Council Tax from 2011/12 to 2013/14
• staff have been informed that significant job losses are expected, but at this stage it is not possible to say how many
On 2 September Leicestershire County Council said it will have to make £70 million of savings over the next four years. No decisions have been taken on where savings will come from, but the Council says they are caused by an expected reduction in Government grant, an intention to hold down Council Tax and higher costs and demands.
Major efficiency savings and significant job losses are expected, but nearly half the cost is likely to come from reductions in services and higher charges. The Council says:
• it has pledged to freeze Council Tax from 2011/12 to 2013/14
• staff have been informed that significant job losses are expected, but at this stage it is not possible to say how many
• more than 50 per cent of the budget reduction will come from efficiency savings, but nearly half will need to come from service reductions and higher charges for some services.
The Cabinet and the Council's Scrutiny Commission will discuss the situation this month (September) and public consultation will be staged later this year, before more detailed plans are considered by the full County Council budget meeting in February 2010.
Before any council thinks about budget cuts it needs to take a good close look at where it might be wasting money. The UNISON East Midlands Regional Office has made a series of Freedom of Information requests to councils and we will be publishing the results soon and we will all be able to see if councils are wasting money on agency workers and consultants.
If these cuts go through there is no doubt there will be an impact on front line services. The local Leicestershire County UNISON branch will be campaigning against these cuts and if you want to assist contact the branch office on 0116 305 6153 or you can e-mail them on unison@leics.gov.uk
If like UNISON, you are worried about these proposals and you are a resident of Leicestershire you should write to your County Councillor and David Parsons, the Leader of the Council to say why you are opposed to these cuts. You can find details of who your County Councillor is here.
The Cabinet and the Council's Scrutiny Commission will discuss the situation this month (September) and public consultation will be staged later this year, before more detailed plans are considered by the full County Council budget meeting in February 2010.
Before any council thinks about budget cuts it needs to take a good close look at where it might be wasting money. The UNISON East Midlands Regional Office has made a series of Freedom of Information requests to councils and we will be publishing the results soon and we will all be able to see if councils are wasting money on agency workers and consultants.
If these cuts go through there is no doubt there will be an impact on front line services. The local Leicestershire County UNISON branch will be campaigning against these cuts and if you want to assist contact the branch office on 0116 305 6153 or you can e-mail them on unison@leics.gov.uk
If like UNISON, you are worried about these proposals and you are a resident of Leicestershire you should write to your County Councillor and David Parsons, the Leader of the Council to say why you are opposed to these cuts. You can find details of who your County Councillor is here.
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