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At least 10,000 fewer people will be working for Scottish local authorities within the next few years, a survey of councils by BBC Scotland has found.
All of Scotland's 32 councils were asked how many jobs would be lost in their respective areas either through voluntary redundancy, unfilled posts or early retirement. Only two of the local authorites failed to respond, with 10 of the remaining 30 councils giving specific figures for periods ranging from one to four years. Some individual council figures, including Glasgow and West Lothian, were already in the public domain. Below is a round-up of their responses.
NORTH OF SCOTLAND
Aberdeen City: no figures given The council, which employs about 10,000 people, said it was "impossible at this stage" to give an exact figure for job losses. The council is currently preparing a five-year costed business plan. "Successive budgets will take into account the appropriate staffing levels which are required to provide high-quality services," it said. For more information click
here
Aberdeenshire: no figures given The council has 10,000 employees but was unable to supply figures for anticipated job losses. For more information click
here
Orkney: no figures given Orkney has a total workforce of 2,039. The council said it expected to make savings over the next three years but has not specified job losses during that period. For more information click
here
Moray: no figures given Moray employs 5,200 staff but has yet to produce a target figure for job losses. For more information click
here
Shetland: no figures given Shetland Council did not respond to the survey. For more information click
here
SOUTH OF SCOTLAND
Dumfries and Galloway: no figures given The council employs 8,160 staff. It was unable to specify how many job losses are anticipated. For more information click
here
Scottish Borders: no figures given Scottish Borders Council was unable to supply specific figures for anticipated job losses. For more information click
here
HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS
Highland: no figures given Highland Council has a workforce of 9,550. It said it expected to make savings over the next three years but expected job losses have not been specified. For more information click
here
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar: no figure given Western Isles Council employs 2,569 people. The council said it could not put a figure on anticipated job losses over the next few years. It is expecting to have to make £15m of savings over the next three years. "If that was to come solely from jobs that would equate to roughly 450," the council said in a statement. The comhairle said it had asked for expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy from teaching staff and was looking at introducing a similar scheme for other council employees. "The only certainty is that cuts of that magnitude will have an impact - whether that be on jobs, services or a mixture of the two," the statement added. The comhairle is to retain a policy of no compulsory redundancies "as far as possible". For more information click
here
TAYSIDE AND CENTRAL
Angus: no figures given The council currently has 4,925 full-time employees. It said it was considering the implications of anticipated future reductions in council budgets. "Until these considerations are completed, the council is not in a position to comment further," the council said in a statement. For more information click
here
Clackmannanshire: 12% cut in costs over three years Clackmannanshire Council currently employs 2,776 staff. It said it expected to reduce costs by 12% over a period of three years. For more information click
here
Dundee: no figures given Dundee Council has a total workforce of 6,818. It has set no specific targets for future job losses. For more information click
here
Falkirk: no figures given A total of 7,779 people are employed by Falkirk Council, which has not drawn up specific job targets. For more information click
here
Stirling: Up to 400 jobs over three years The council employs about 5,000 staff. It is anticipating a substantial reduction in employee numbers over the next three years and beyond. In a statement the council said: "The estimated number at the moment is between 300 to 400 posts, although it is considered that a reduction in cost may be achieved through other means and not through such a large reduction in posts. The considerations include service re-design and workforce planning." The council also said compulsory redundancy was "the last option". For more information click
here
Perth and Kinross: no figures given Perth & Kinross Council employs a total of 6,026 staff. The council said it was planning to reduce its workforce over the next four years "in a structured way" using measures such as voluntary retirement and efficiency reviews. It is also exploring opportunities for shared services and collaborative working. No target number has been set for this planned reduction. For more information click
here
GLASGOW AND THE WEST
Argyll and Bute: no figures given The council employs the equivalent of 4,284 full-time posts. It said it couldn't provide specific numbers of job losses at this stage. "The numbers will be informed by other efficiencies that we can make," said a spokesman. "We are about to launch a trawl for voluntary redundancy, after which the numbers will be reviewed in line with the series of planned service reviews and the implementation of agreed budget cuts for 2010/11." For more information click
here
East Ayrshire: no figures given East Ayrshire Council employs 6,500 staff. It has yet to set any targets for future job losses. For more information click
here
East Dunbartonshire: Up to 850 jobs over next few years The council currently has 4,973 full-time employees but its headcount will fall by about 250 during the current financial year. "Based on current financial projections, it is anticipated that the council's headcount will continue to reduce by 200 per annum for the next three years," it said. For more information click
here
East Renfrewshire: 400 jobs over three years There are 3,938 council workers in East Renfrewshire. The council said it expected to cut that number by about 10% over a period of three years. For more information click
here
Inverclyde: no figures given Inverclyde Council did not respond to the survey. For more information click
here
Glasgow City: 2,800 jobs over three years Glasgow City Council has a total workforce of 24,000. It confirmed that it planned to reduce that figure by more than 10% over a period of three years. For more information click
here
North Ayrshire: Up to 1,000 posts by 2013 The council currently employs 7,300 full and part-time staff. It said it expected its workforce to be cut by between 800 and 1,000 by April 2013. For more information click
here
North Lanarkshire: 900 jobs over four years North Lanarkshire Council has a total workforce of 18,000. The council said it was targeting a 5% reduction in employee costs over three financial years from 2011 to 2014. That would equate to approximately 900 posts. North Lanarkshire stressed that the majority of losses would come from not filling vacancies but a reasonable proportion would result from "managing overtime better and potentially looking at other employee costs". For more information click
here
Renfrewshire: no figures given Renfrewshire Council employs 8,700 workers. It has yet to set job loss targets. For more information click
here
South Ayrshire: no figures given The council employs 5,547 workers. It said it expected its overall budget to fall by about £35m over the next few years which "will clearly have an impact on how we go about our business". It has already put a detailed financial strategy in place which will focus on its biggest spending areas including staff, property and purchases. The council added: "However, we know that efficiency actions alone will not be enough and we will have to make some very difficult decisions." For more information click
here
South Lanarkshire: 210 posts already gone The council, which has 16,000 employees, said it had already taken action to remove 210 posts through reviewing management and administrative arrangements. "The council are currently working on proposals to meet estimated savings of £30m each year for the next three years and any required reduction in employee levels will not be quantified until this is complete," it said. For more information click
here
West Dunbartonshire: 140 jobs this year The council has around 6,500 employees including teachers. It is currently reviewing its plans "for the next few years" but has confirmed 140 jobs will go this year. "Additional changes impacting future years have still to be agreed by council," it said. For more information click
here
EDINBURGH AND THE EAST
East Lothian: 12% cut in employee costs over three years East Lothian Council employs 4,480 workers. It is planning to make savings of 12% in employee costs over three years. For more information click
here
Edinburgh: 12% cut in staffing costs over three years Edinburgh plans to make a range of savings, including reducing its staffing bill by 12% over a period of three years. For more information click
here
Fife: 1,800 jobs this year The council, which employs about 20,000 staff, recently announced that more than 1,800 posts would be cut within the next year. The reductions are being made as part of a plan to reduce the local authority's budget by almost £120m over the next four years. The council said it "probably" needed to reduce the size of its workforce by 10-15% by 2014. Employees are being asked to look at options including voluntary redundancy, early retirement and working more flexibly. The council said delivering increasingly efficient customer services was top of its agenda. For more information click
here
Midlothian: No figures given Midlothian Council has 3,890 permanent employees. Council leader Derek Milligan said Midlothian was finalising the details of its "transformation" programme, which aims to deliver 15% of savings on its budget. "It is not possible to give further information at this stage, although we are working closely with our staff and our communities to tackle the challenges we and all public sector organisations are confronting," he said. For more information click
here
West Lothian: 1,000 posts over four years West Lothian Council, which employs 7,000 workers, plans to reduce that number by 1,000 over a period of four years. For more information click
here
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