300 job losses at Caerphilly Council “still stands”

The deputy leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council has admitted the plan to axe 300 staff still stands as the council prepares to deal with its £25million funding gap.

Plaid councillor Colin Mann also called for unity among rival councillors as he prepared for a budget seminar meeting with them today.

Council leader Lindsay Whittle echoed the sentiment and said: “We must always remember we are here to serve the people we represent.

“It would be simple for us to avoid this major reduction in spending until the next council elections and leave the very difficult decisions to those who are elected in 2012.

“This seminar will provide the context for how we plan to spend our budget in the next five years it will also ensure councillors have the right information to make a decision on council tax and the annual budget at the end of the month.”

A squeeze on Government funding means Caerphilly County Borough Council faces a shortfall of £25m over the next five years.

Last year the council admitted that 300 jobs could be under threat because of the funding crisis.

Cllr Mann, who is also cabinet member for resources as well as deputy leader, said: “During the autumn 2009 we met councillors, our citizens forum Viewpoint Panel, our youth forum and a range of employees from across the organisation.

“All of their views together with our budget advisory group have been added into an options paper, which sets out how we manage our finances in the coming years.

“The next step is to meet with all councillors who all have a duty to ensure the public receive the services they need at a cost they can afford.

“This will be the final consultation before a budget medium term plan report is formally put to the vote in autumn 2010.

“This is not about party politics nor is it about scoring political points, like every other local authority it is about financially managing jobs and services for the area and having the foresight to make the best use of our resources.

“The consultation report has some radical suggestions on how, in the long term, reduction of spending can take place and the projections mentioned over a year ago about reducing the work force by 300 jobs still stands.”

Following today’s meeting, the council will make its final decision on any council tax rises at the end of this month.

A report on the annual budget is also due to be given to councillors later this week.