Council paid £1.2m in redundancies, figures show

The council's pay-outs were amongst the highest of any local authority in England

New data released by the government has shown a council paid out more than £1.2m in redundancy payments in the 24/25 financial year.

Wiltshire Council's pay-outs are amongst the highest of any local authority in England and are far higher than the redundancy payments made in any of the previous three years.

Lucy Townsend, chief executive of Wiltshire Council said that the council was forced to make "structural changes" due to "ongoing financial pressures."

"As an organisation that employs around 5,300 staff, redundancy costs can fluctuate significantly from year to year depending on the scale and nature of organisational change," she said.

The figures came from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.

Earlier this year Wiltshire Council reported a "balanced" budget and raised its share of council tax by less than most other authorities.

In recent months the council has reported a £4.85m overspend - due to unforeseen demands around adult social care.

Wiltshire Council paid £278,000 in redundancies in 2023-24, £556,000 in 2022-23 and £698,000 in the year before that - which was during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"While the figure for 2024–25 is higher than in previous years, it reflects a number of necessary structural changes made to ensure the council continues to deliver services as efficiently and effectively as possible in the face of ongoing financial pressures," said Ms Townsend.

"Redundancies are always a last resort, and we have robust policies and procedures in place to support affected staff.

"We take every possible step to redeploy individuals into other roles within the organisation to protect employment wherever we can.

"As we continue to navigate a challenging financial landscape, we must regularly review how we deliver services to ensure they remain sustainable," she added.