Cash crisis may hit council jobs

Jo Lovelock said cuts would be necessary to protect vital services

Jobs may be cut at a Berkshire council in an effort to safeguard "vital services" during the global financial crisis, the council leader has warned.

Labour councillor Jo Lovelock said Reading Borough Council needed to make "considerable savings".

She said plans to safeguard education, care and refuse collections could mean cuts elsewhere, and jobs were one area.

A budget overspend was likely, she added. Unison union said it would "resist any compulsory redundancies".

Councillor Lovelock added that despite the overspend - for the first time in "some years" - the council was still in credit.

"Demographic" factors were also causing an impact on budgets, including the increase in the number of elderly residents needing care, she said.

One of the big costs we have in the council are our staff Jo Lovelock Reading Borough Council leader

"What we'll be trying to do is to find other savings, that won't be easy, but ones which protect those valuable services, and also aim to keep council tax rises as low as possible," Ms Lovelock told the BBC.

"We'll be having a look at staffing levels, obviously, because one of the big costs we have in the council are our staff."

Building projects were also likely to experience cuts, Ms Lovelock said.

"I think the big impact is going to be on capital projects, that's things like new school buildings and repairs to things that we'd like to be getting on with."

'Tighten belts'

Only urgent health and safety measures on such projects would continue to be a priority, Ms Lovelock said.

She said the economic situation would mean less income for the council from facilities such as leisure centres, as families "tighten their belt".

In a statement, Reading Borough Council said: "While some redundancies cannot be ruled out, the council has committed to keep redundancies as low as possible."

Liza Nicklin, regional organiser for Unison in Reading, said: "I am very concerned that Councillor Lovelock has chosen to release this statement now as I would expect the budget to be settled by this time of the year.

"We are all fully aware of the economic problems at the moment, however, fuel and energy bills are now starting to come down so I hope that there won't be a need for any job loses."

Last week, the borough council said it did not have any money in the troubled Icelandic banks.

But Ms Lovelock said the current "international economic situation" could cut the council's outstanding balance for the year from £6.1m to £3.5m.

The unitary authority, which was in Labour control for more than 20 years, went into no overall control at local elections in May.