Council job cuts 'will save £10m'

At least 75 people will lose their jobs at Bury Council as part of a move to save £10m.

Council leader Wayne Campbell said all services apart from education would be reviewed with the aim of making cuts in expenditure.

The council said the cuts were necessary because of the amount of money given to them by the government.

It said its rise of 2% was the lowest nationally and below the average for Greater Manchester.

Last resort

The ruling Labour group said the money provided to the council by the government until 2008 had been a "huge disappointment".

It said it received £309 per head compared to the average for metropolitan councils of £449 per head.

Cllr Campbell said the council would lobby ministers for more money in January and would only cut jobs as a last resort.

He said: "This settlement is a disaster for Bury, it is a huge setback for the work we are doing here locally to sustain the broad level of services against years of being the lowest funded metropolitan council."

'No excuse'

He added that £10m savings were necessary in order to keep on providing services to vulnerable people.

A spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said: "Bury have received an above inflation grant increase from government for the next two years - which will allow them to deliver effective services at an affordable cost.

"This marks the tenth successive year in which Government has provided local government with an above inflation grant increase.

"There is no excuse for excessive council tax increases."