Leicestershire County Council to axe 1,000 posts

Leicestershire County Council has revealed it plans to cut 1,000 posts in a bid to save £82m over the next four years.

The Tory-controlled authority proposed the measures at a meeting of its ruling cabinet on Tuesday.

A council spokesperson said the authority hoped to minimise compulsory redundancies through staff turnover and natural wastage.

The authority said it hoped £58m would come from efficiency savings.

'Protect priorities'

Savings are expected to be made in administration costs and changing the way in which some services are delivered, the council said.

Environment and transport services will also be affected with a review of libraries, heritage and arts services being carried out.

Nick Rushton, the council's deputy leader, said: "We know that the country can't support the current level of public spending and councils have to save money.

"We've had an extremely tough funding settlement but by being responsible and planning for savings, we are proposing to limit the impact on the public.

"Our priority is to provide value for money and run the council as efficiently as possible.

"Some cuts to services are inevitable but we've listened to the 5,000 people who took part in our budget consultation and we're going to do our best to protect priorities such as children's social care and winter maintenance."

The authority said more money will be spent on adult social care needs and children in care.

The cutbacks will be discussed at a council meeting on 19 January.