Council staff offered voluntary redundancy

The council has agreed to cut its workforce to reduce costs

All staff at Shropshire Council, apart from those working in schools, have been offered the chance to apply for voluntary redundancy.

The council needs to save £62m during the next financial year and its plans include the loss of around 300 full time jobs.

The council has said the process will be carefully managed to ensure that all departments remain staffed.

Last Thursday, it approved budget plans that include a 4.99% council tax rise.

The authority has said it needs to close a funding gap caused by increased demand and rising costs for its services, especially in social care and housing.

In the current financial year it has cut £40m from its budget, but the leader of the Conservative-run authority, Lezley Picton, said it needed to make "more difficult decisions that we have never wanted to make".

Council leader Lezley Picton said the authority was having to make difficult choices

At its full council meeting last week, the authority agreed a number of measures which include reducing support for leisure services, reducing the number of recycling centres, moving out of its Shirehall offices and looking at savings in libraries.

It has said it will consult with local communities to see if some services, such as libraries and leisure centres, could continue outside council control.