Northumberland County Council not ruling out redundancies

Northumberland County Council faces a potential shortfall of £17m

Compulsory redundancies for workers cannot be ruled out because of a potential £17m shortfall in a council budget, its leader has said.

The potential funding gap at Northumberland County Council was identified last September.

It comes months after all council staff were offered the chance to apply for voluntary redundancy.

Council leader Glen Sanderson, said he did not want to see "widespread" job cuts and would "avoid them if we can".

'Difficult decisions'

"I can't say we will, but I don't want it to happen. I want us to treat our staff the same way we would expect to be treated if we worked for the council," he said.

"There will be difficult decisions, and I cannot guarantee there won't be compulsory redundancies, but we will avoid them if we can."

Council leader Glen Sanderson said he cannot rule out redundancies

Work to address the £17m shortfall has been ongoing and it is believed money set aside for inflation will cover the costs, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

But the council's finances are in a far healthier position, said deputy leader Councillor Richard Wearmouth.

He said: "As a council the mid-year position was we were projecting significant overspends, but we have got that under control."

While inflation was slowing down, the rise in costs remained a significant issue for the council, he added.

Figures show that costs include an electricity increase of 139%, a gas increase of 281% and a pay inflation rise of 7.28%.

"By the end of this year's budget," the council "should be able to cover any overspend with the money that was set aside", Mr Wearmouth said.