Up to 80 council jobs to be lost

Up to 80 jobs could be lost at Wealden District Council by 2014/15 as spending cuts take effect. Forty of them are expected to go by the end of 2011/12.

Some of the jobs are being lost through natural wastage with people not being replaced as they leave.

Where possible the council is seeking to avoid compulsory redundancies by redeploying staff.

The council is looking to make savings of about £3 million a year by 2014/15 to meet expected cutbacks in central government funding.

The savings, which will form the second phase of the council’s Transformation Programme, will be on top of the £1.8 million a year of savings which the council expects to achieve by the end of 2011/12 under the first phase of the programme.

“We have been predicting cutbacks in public spending so, compared to many councils, we are already ahead of the game,” said Cllr Bob Standley, leader of the council. “Nevertheless, the reductions now necessary will mean significant changes.”

The council will not know by how much its central government funding has been cut until October, but it is anticipating a cut of 35 per cent.

Some 43 per cent of the council's budget comes from central government, the remainder through council tax and fees for services.

The second phase of Wealden's Transformation Programme will look at reducing levels of service or stopping some discretionary services.

It will also look at sharing management arrangements with other authorities.

Wealden District Council's policy is to keep any council tax increases as low as possible, while ensuring a good level of service, particularly for the vulnerable members of the community.