Nearly 7,000 council jobs are cut

Nearly half of councils making cuts said management posts were axed

Nearly 7,000 jobs have been cut by councils in England in the last six months, according to Local Government Association (LGA) figures.

The LGA said three in five local authorities had made staff reductions since the end 2007 and a similar number plan to cut posts in the next year.

It said the recession had hit hard. Income is expected to drop by £2.5bn, leading to "difficult decisions".

Unison said it was appalling that council workers faced joblessness.

Nearly half of councils which made cuts said senior management posts were axed.

Frontline staff

The LGA said council employers have formally tabled a pay offer of 0.5% for this financial year to local government staff and have warned that a higher pay rise would lead to councils laying off even more employees.

Sir Jeremy Beecham, vice chairman of the LGA, said: "Just as the private sector is having to cut back during tough times, so too are councils faced with incredibly difficult decisions.

"It is a highly unpleasant decision for any council to cut jobs but they also understand that local people are suffering because of the recession.

"As the recession continues to bite hard, we fully expect councils to keep on cutting jobs over the course of the next 12 months. Councils are having to tighten their belts in exactly the same way as hard-pressed families."

He also expressed regret that frontline staff were being cut, but added that where this is the case, "councils are doing all they can to ensure that vital local services stay in place for people being affected by the recession".

The trade union Unison attacked the planned cuts.

A spokesman said: "It's appalling that local government workers, who have contributed billions of pounds in efficiency savings over the past few years, should be threatened with the dole.

"This is typical employer scaremongering to try to justify a paltry 0.5% (3p an hour) pay offer. The majority of local councils have budgeted for 2.2% to 2.5% for this year's pay rise but want to get away with paying pennies."