Further cuts for Leeds City Council

LEEDS City Council is set to cut £51.3m from its budget and reduce headcount by close to 400 next year.

The cuts come on top of £145m in savings already made in the last two years as the council forecasts that by 2017 it will need to cut the budget by £285m compared to 2010 levels.

Councils across Yorkshire are facing a squeeze as Government funding is cut and limits are placed on how much council tax can rise.

Council leader Keith Wakefield said: “Looking to deliver yet more savings, after already saving £145m, is more challenging than any of us imagined. Sadly, there is no escaping the fact that future savings will directly affect services and jobs, and our ability to protect services will be more restricted than ever. That said, we do still have choices about how to make savings –and we need to be clear about those choices, however difficult they may be.

“We are looking at all areas of the council to find savings, including some that we hoped we would never have to consider. We remain determined to do all we can to improve the lives of people in Leeds through new ways of working, although the simple fact is the council is getting smaller. We need to look at any and all ideas to ensure the best services can be offered to people in whatever form that may be. The council is in an incredibly difficult position but we are determined to work through this as a city.”

City development is one of the areas that will see job losses, with the equivalent of 85 full-time staff going while adult social care will see 189 jobs lost.

The council is hoping to make savings in adult social care and children’s services and reduce spending on rubbish by introducing alternative recylcing and waste collections across the city.

Spending on planning and economic development will be “protected where possible”.

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