Up to 600 jobs at council could go, warns leader

Up to 600 jobs could be lost at a council whose leader described the current financial climate as "austerity on steroids".

Caerphilly council leader Sean Morgan said the authority must save a "huge sum" of money and told colleagues the budget outlook made for "sombre viewing".

He anticipates £45m will need to be saved over the next two years – including £33m this year – to balance the budget.

"The council will be facing a reduction of around 600 full-time equivalent roles – that’s around 10% of our current workforce," he announced at a meeting on financial pressures.

The council says the £45m budget gap has opened because the cost of providing and running services has increased at a faster rate than Welsh government grants, which make up the bulk of the council’s funding.

It said it has so far found ways it can save £28m over the next two years, through a combination of streamlining services, tightening up its spending, and making cuts.

The cuts include council leaders recently backing a proposal to mothball the museum at Llancaiach Fawr, which it currently subsidies by £485,000 each year.

Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire also weighed in after the council withdrew funding for Blackwood Miners' Institute, a venue that has previously hosted acts including the Stereophonics, Black Sabbath and Coldplay.

"I know councils are in a terrible position with budgets and money is short but it would be very sad if that was to close down," said Wire in September.

In his appeal to councillors on Monday, Mr Morgan asked colleagues to “shape the future” of the council by protecting key services in the face of an “unprecedented” financial situation.

He said the council will “minimise” enforced redundancies but will “work with staff to look at redeployment and early retirement, to mitigate against the impacts of a shrinking workforce”.

“While nobody would wish to be in this invidious position, it’s a position that has been imposed on us," he added.

Eluned Stenner, the cabinet member for finance, told the meeting that the council’s £192m in reserve should not be mistaken for a financial lifeline.

The vast majority, she said, could not be diverted into paying to run services.

About £37m is ring-fenced for housing, schools and insurance, £29m is capital reserves which must be used on building, and another £36m had already been set aside to build new schools.

She said a further £73.3m has already been earmarked for specific projects already approved by the council, leaving an "uncommitted" balance of just £16.4m.

"To put this into context, this would only fund revenue expenditure for a period of two weeks," she added.