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Tough budget decisions will lead to job losses
In a bid to
balance its 2011 to 2012 budget, Scarborough Borough Council is
having to make necessary reductions in spending across all of its
services, which will include reducing around 50 posts in the coming
months.
In reaching this decision,
the council has been keen to ensure that there is minimum effect on
front-line services and has also reflected on the outcome of the
recent public consultation exercise.
Some of the affected posts
are currently vacant and all staff directly affected by the
proposals are being notified of the implications.
The council has been forced
to take this action following the Government’s settlement
announcements for local authority grant funding last month, which
will have major implications on its spending and budget setting
over the next four years and beyond.
The impact for the council
was a reduction in grant funding of 14.6% in 2011 to 2012 and 9.2%
in 2012 to 2013.
In cash terms these
reductions equate to £1.575 million in 2011 to 2012 and £864,000 in
2012 to 2013 after adjusting for the transfer of the concessionary
fares budget to North Yorkshire County Council.
Prior to the announcements,
the council's financial plan assumed cuts of 7.4% per annum, which
were in line with the headline figures set out for local government
in the Comprehensive Spending Review, therefore the actual
allocations were much worse than anticipated.
Jim Dillon, Scarborough
Borough Council’s Chief Executive said: “It is regrettable that the
severe nature of the cuts to our grant funding means that we will
have to lose a number of posts across the council.
"We will make every effort
to ensure that, where possible, the staff affected will have the
opportunity to find alternative employment and full support and
guidance will be given to all affected staff.
"Where possible and
practicable, re-training and utilising natural wastage will be the
first option with compulsory redundancy a last option.
“In developing proposals to
meet the necessary cuts in the next few years, the council will
continue to seek to achieve these targets through efficiency
savings rather than service cuts and will continue to seek ways of
exploring partnership opportunities with other service
providers.”
In addition to the cuts in
Government grant funding, which will have the biggest impact on
council finances, a three yearly re-evaluation of the Pension Fund
has meant that the council will have to increase the level of
employer's contribution into the fund by around £1 million per
year.
The increase will be staged
over three years with an initial increase of £450,000 in 2011 to
2012.
The draft budget proposals for 2011 to 2012 will be presented to
the council’s Cabinet for consideration on 18 January.