Economic slowdown: Redbridge Council passes budget cuts

Redbridge council in north London council has finalised plans to cut £12m from its budget for the coming year.

The Lib Dem and Tory-run council voted to reduce its overall budget to £197m - making savings in children's services, adult social services and housing.

It will make about £25m cuts over the next three years with the loss of 330 jobs from a 3,100-strong workforce.

A total of 28 London councils have finalised budget cuts for next year with at least 7,800 jobs being lost.

A Redbridge council spokesman said: "Our priority is to protect front-line services as far as possible by making as many efficiency savings from our back office functions as we can.

"Nevertheless the scale of the savings is so big that some impact on services will be unavoidable.

"We will do what we can to mitigate the effect on the grants that the council gives, but unfortunately some very worthwhile local groups will lose funding."

Job cuts

To save money in children's services, the council will reduce the cost of transport to residential schools outside of the borough, which will save up to £250,000.

In adult social services, the council will save £700,000 in care for people with learning disabilities.

The council estimated 330 jobs would be lost. It currently employs 3,100 staff, excluding schools staff and carers.

Of the job losses, 40 would be in adult care services, 38 in children services and 24 in the environment department.

A further 70 jobs would be lost in the highways department, 13 in housing, 44 in leisure and 10 in planning.

A total of 89 jobs will be cut from the central and finance teams.

Local authorities face an average 9.9% cut in government formula grant funding in 2011-12.

However the plans already announced by London councils stand to save the public purse more than £1bn over three years.