A FURTHER 259 roles will be cut at Leeds City Council next year as the number of jobs lost since 2010 edges nearer 3,000.
Cllr Judith Blake, the leader of Leeds City Council, has warned “austerity is not over, another incredibly difficult year lies ahead” after proposals to address a funding gap of approximately £87m next year were revealed.
The city council’s executive board will next week discuss initial budget proposals with it facing further cuts to core funding received from the government of approximately £24m together with rising costs and demand for services leaving an overall funding gap of £87.2m for 2016-17.
The reduction of government funding continues the trend which has seen Leeds City Council receive more than £180m less in core funding – a drop of more than 40% since 2010 – with an expectation of a further 30% cut reduction by 2019/20.
Cllr Judith Blake said: “These figures are worse than we feared and should make clear to everyone in Leeds that although in many ways the city is performing fantastically well, if anyone believes austerity is over it most definitely is not. We still face another incredibly difficult year in Leeds for public services, which will mean more very tough decisions to come.”
The council will continue to get smaller in size, with a reduction in staff numbers of 259 full-time equivalent posts next year, adding to more than 2,500 full-time equivalent posts the council has reduced by since 2010, saving £55m a year as a result.
Cllr Blake added: “The council simply cannot continue to operate the way it has traditionally as the resource is no longer there, so we need to look at new ways of delivering services or helping people to help themselves, be that through working differently with partners or making the most of new innovations and technology.
“So more difficult discussions and decisions lie ahead, but we are committed to being a compassionate city with a strong economy and I continue to have the utmost confidence in the resilience of the people of Leeds to meet this challenge.”
The initial budget figures for Leeds for 2016/17 are best estimates as the full position will not be known until the council receives it government grant settlement details later this month.
