Funding shortfall of £2m at Winchester needs plugging (From Daily Echo)

Funding shortfall of £2m at Winchester needs plugging

9:59am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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A CITY council in Hampshire has announced plans to axe 70 jobs in a bid to cut its spending.

Civic chiefs have admitted frontline services in Winchester could suffer as the authority sheds jobs and cuts back on services.

They have revealed 15 jobs will go by Christmas, 50 within 18 months and 70 in three years time. Council leader Kelsie Learney revealed the decision has been made in a bid to plug a funding shortfall of at least £2m a year, as a result of predicted Government spending cuts.

She said the authority was squeezed between an estimated grant cut of 20 per cent and reduced income from things such as parking. Another factor is that the Liberal Democrat-controlled council is committed to not increasing council tax in 2011-12.

Cllr Learney said it was too early to be specific about the job cuts although she expected some to be compulsory: “We have tried to concentrate on back office posts that will have the lowest impact but when it comes to making cuts of that magnitude there will be some impact on services and there will be some things that we will not be able to do.

“It is always really difficult when actions you take lead to people losing their jobs but we have to think of the overall picture and that is one in which we have big problems in the national economy and national debt.”

She added: “Once the impact starts hitting home there are going to be very upset people throughout the district.”

The council is undertaking a series of reviews into how it works and is aiming to make its staff more flexible.

Winchester is already working closely with East Hampshire on a waste collection contract and with Test Valley on IT services.

The spending reviews have now thrown some major projects into doubt. Among them is the major revamp of the River Park Leisure Centre which was due to close for six months next April, a refurbishment of Abbey House, IT upgrades and the re-paving of The Square.

Simon Woolfenden, of the Winchester UNISON branch, said: “Naturally we are concerned at the number of posts that are proposed to be shed.

“We fully expect the city council to consult both the union and the staff. We are concerned too about the potential impact of the cuts to services to the public.”