Lincolnshire leader worried about elderly services

The council has already cut its budget over the past few years

Services for the elderly in Lincolnshire will be under pressure as the government moves to cut costs, a county council leader says.

County council leader Martin Hill said millions of pounds will have to cut from the budget in the next few years.

"We have increased demands for services for the elderly -we have to sort out how that is to be funded," he added.

Increases in the growth of the over-80s population will mean an increase in demand for services, he said.

'Cuts in bureaucracy'

"We have been cutting 3% or 4% of the budget - nearly £10m to £20m a year - for the past two or three years.

"We do not have a hit list but we have currently slowed right down on recruitment," he said.

Councils across Lincolnshire, including the seven district councils and the county council, have already said they have to cut the equivalent of 1,400 full-time staff in the next five years.

Mr Hill said: "We think the majority of them (the savings) - but not all of them - will come from being more efficient and reducing the amount of property we have and reducing the processes and bureaucracy we have."

East Lindsey District Council said that at least 16 toilets will be closed or transferred to other authorities in a move to save money.

The district council is trying to save £8m from a £22m budget.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said action on spending was needed this year because of the "deteriorating" state of Europe's finances and as an "early instalment" to show the UK was serious about tackling the deficit.

He said the government should be judged on whether the cuts were "fairly administered", did not hit the most vulnerable in society and no regions of the country were singled out.