Council leader 'can't rule out' redundancies

Northumberland County Council Leader Glen Sanderson said it was his wish to avoid job losses

Northumberland County Council has said it cannot rule out compulsory redundancies.

Council leader Glen Sanderson said it was "his wish" to avoid job losses unless there was an "absolute need".

The council is preparing to release its budget for the coming year at the same time as local authorities across the country are facing increased financial pressure.

Critics have raised concerned that cuts could impact on local services.

Speaking at a council meeting, Mr Sanderson said: "I don’t want to see anybody lose their job compulsorily if we can avoid it.

“If we can possibly avoid it, there will be no compulsory redundancies – but I can’t rule it out."

The Conservative councillor made a similar statement last year but 12 youth workers were later made redundant and replaced with youth support workers in the council’s family hubs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Impact on services

Labour councillor Lynne Grimshaw raised concerns that there were "not a lot of posts being filled" at the council and that cuts could make the situation worse.

She said: "That worries me because of the service and the impact it could have on the people we represent.”

Mr Sanderson reiterated that he did not wish to see any redundancies over the next year but could not talk about the "longer term future".

The initial budget will be presented to the next meeting of the council's corporate services and economic growth scrutiny committee.

A decision will then be made on whether to implement the budget at a full council meeting in February.