Worst round of council job losses for a generation with 25,000 predicted to go

By Chris Irvine Published: 6:25AM GMT 01 March 2010

Research additionally found that 7 in 10 councils envision they will have to cut spending by up to twenty per cent over the subsequent 3 to five years.

The prophecy is formed on answers from 49 councils with a total workforce of only over 256,000.

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The consult comes as John Denham, the Communities Secretary, currently published a inform pursuit on critical frontline services to be protected.

A series of councils have already indicated over the last month that they will cut jobs. Birmingham city council, the country"s greatest internal authority, reliable they were formulation to strew up to 2,000 jobs over the subsequent monetary year. Nottinghamshire legislature has additionally warned it programmed to cut up to 1,500 jobs in an try to save �200 million over the subsequent five years.

The pursuit loss figure of 25,000, is formed on answers from 49 councils, who occupy a total 256,000. While majority of the councils were demure to foresee pursuit cuts, eight - Kirklees, Leeds, City of Bradford, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Surrey - pronounced 1,000 or some-more competence go in the subsequent five years.

Tony Travers, executive of the Greater London organisation at the London School of Economics, believes that the scale of pursuit reductions could outcome in "tens of thousands of posts" being lost.

"Nothing similar to this has happened for a generation", he said. "To minimise the impacts on the public... would need large efficiencies in all service, higher charges for majority and pity back-office staff with alternative open bodies."

The consult by BBC English Regions, that was sent to 150 county and unitary councils and civil and London boroughs, additionally found that roughly all councils who responded pronounced they approaching bill cuts, with libraries, the humanities and camp the majority at risk. Almost all of the councils pronounced they programmed to share services such as health trusts and schools with alternative tools of the open zone in sequence to save money.

Mr Denham duration pronounced that councils contingency strengthen frontline services, and adopt measures such as pity departments, and carrying comparison government in assign of some-more than one open body.

"Councils have a little difficult choices in the subsequent couple of years as things turn tighter," Mr Denham said. "But that is no reason to reduce their sights on use peculiarity people righteously value. "Government is operative tough to have certain councils have explored each probable choice prior to resorting to indiscriminate bill cuts that will affect frontline services and jobs."

A orator for Communities and Local Government added: "Local people will righteously be fanatic of any legislature if they are told that front line services similar to care, libraries or girl services will be cut since it has unsuccessful to lift by all the recommendations done in the inform we are edition currently that shows there are majority actions councils can take to urge potency and in you do so strengthen frontline services whilst saving taxpayers money."