Redcar and Cleveland Council cuts threaten 100 jobs

Up to 100 jobs are under threat on Teesside after council bosses unveiled plans to save almost £26m over the next three years.

Redcar and Cleveland Council has also announced a 4% rise in council tax to pay in part for adult social care.

The Labour-run authority said it "was not an ideal situation", but was left with no other option in the face of central government spending cuts.

Council leader Sue Jeffrey described the revised budget plan as "sensible".

Costs burden

A full council meeting is due to discuss the proposals, which also include turning off some street lights in non-residential areas later this week.

Mrs Jeffrey said: "If we had a choice we would not be putting up the council tax or imposing the adult social care levy.

"But we have such a huge burden of costs in relation to looking after our older people in our borough and those numbers are rising all the time.

"We need to ensure that they have services that are appropriate for their needs and that is what we are doing.

"What we are faced with is not an ideal situation, but we feel that this is a sensible increase in council tax that will allow us to still deliver some good quality services."

The council said by the end of the decade it will have made cuts of more than £90m since 2010.