Job cuts at council will hurt services - union

Job cuts at a cash-strapped council will hurt services and may not save it from going bust, union leaders have warned.

Somerset Council, which is raising council tax by 7.49% in April, is letting go of more than 550 employees in a bid to cut costs.

Speaking at a protest outside a full council meeting on Wednesday, Unison branch secretary Micheál Duffy said the budget was "balanced for this year" but it was "reliant on the capitalisation of assets" and it was "not sustainable going forward".

Councillor Theo Butt Philip said the council's transformation programme was "needed to balance the costs long term".

Councillor Butt Philip, the council's cabinet member for transformation, human resources, and localities, said: "We have taken a number of decisions locally to protect non-statutory services but the system is clearly broken on a national level."

A report by Maria G Christofi, interim chief finance officer, said the budget for 2025/26 was "robust and constitutes a balanced and lawful budget" but warned the council would "run run out of reserves in two years' time and effectively go bust" without action at a "significant scale and pace".

The expected budget gap for 2026/27 was £101m, rising to £190m by 2029/30, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Addressing a council meeting on Wednesday, Unison's Neil Guild said: "Council staff, who are residents and voters themselves, have little confidence in councillors to grapple with the challenges facing Somerset.

"The current set of cuts and job losses will lead to reduced services for residents and still do not guarantee that Somerset will avoid a section 114 notice in the future."

Addressing a council meeting on Wednesday, Unison's Neil Guild said: "Council staff, who are residents and voters themselves, have little confidence in councillors to grapple with the challenges facing Somerset.

"The current set of cuts and job losses will lead to reduced services for residents and still do not guarantee that Somerset will avoid a section 114 notice in the future."

Protestors outside the meeting were concerned the impact of the cuts was not being considered.

Councillor Butt Philip said staffing reductions had "been properly looked at" and they had "assessed what mitigations are needed".

Council leader Bill Revans warned the council would be forced to issue a section 114 notice if it could not balance its budget, which would see government commissioners take over the authority's finances.

He warned residents could see a double digit increase in council tax if the government takes control.

The agreed council tax increase means people living in a typical band D property will pay an additional £129 a year, or £2.49 a week.

Revans said: "It is clear the funding model is broken and I welcome the government's commitment for reform to funding in key areas of pressure like social care and special educational needs and disabilities.

"The situation for local government remains critical and we need action urgently, or councils like Somerset will simply run out of money."

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