Member Article

South Tyneside Council expects 600 job cuts by 2020

Cllr Ed Malcolm, Lead Member for Resources and Innovation at South Tyneside Council, has today warned of major council job cuts in the next five years.

In a statement released today, Cllr Malcolm said: “I am forced to accept the submission of a HR1 indicating a loss of up to 600 council jobs by 2020. I say forced as this is not something that South Tyneside Council wishes to take forward, but rather something that has been thrust upon us by this Conservative Government.”

Cllr Malcolm admits the future looks “bleak” for the council as it prepares for hundreds of job cuts affected in the “budget setting process” which covers the term of the newly-elected Conservative government.

He continued: “Put bluntly – in 2020 South Tyneside Council as we know it will change dramatically. This undoubtedly will have an effect on our residents and the services which they receive.

The political situation has made a significant impact upon the council, Cllr Malcolm says, as the impact of cuts made by the coalition government “savagely attacked” the people of South Tyneside.

Looking forward, the council expects more cuts to come with the new government. Cllr Malcolm added: “The Chancellor’s autumn statement this year is expected to indicate where the remaining £20bn of Government spending cuts will be made. This statement will provide Local Government with a clearer picture of how the sector could be impacted by funding reductions. It will not provide sufficient detail to establish the funding for individual councils. This is unlikely to be known until December.

“However, overall spending cuts we are forecasting are huge for this council and will take us into unknown territory. Never in our history have we faced a situation of such concern.

He concluded: “If the July budget is an indicator of what is to come in the public spending review in the autumn then quite frankly I fear for public services as a whole.

“As the Tory Government takes away from the most vulnerable in our society it is up to us as a local authority to pick up the pieces and without the resources to do so I fear for what will be left behind – of course we will continue to do our very best for local people, but without the resources we rely on from the Government Grant, some very difficult decisions will need to be made over the coming months and years ahead.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .