Management roles at risk in Gwynedd council cuts

Gwynedd council needs to find up to £17.5m in savings over three years

Management roles at Gwynedd council could face cuts as the cash-strapped authority "prepares for the worst".

The council needs to plug a hole in its finances that could require £17.5m of savings over the next three years.

A report to its cabinet pledging to review management structures was backed unanimously.

Finance portfolio holder Peredur Jenkins said it did not mean jobs would automatically be lost but all options had to be examined.

"At a time of financial crisis, we must at least consider whether we could cut back more on management roles," he warned.

He said he did not believe the council's well of efficiency savings was "completely dry" - adding "there could be opportunities to make further savings".

Welsh council funding: What's happening where you live?

• Cash cuts for next two years

• 'Share costs' call

• Q&A: Welsh budget

The council leadership said savings of £62m have been made at the authority over the past 12 years - equal to a quarter of its current annual budget.

The authority currently employs about 6,000 people across what is Wales' second largest geographical county.

Meeting in Caernarfon on Tuesday, the cabinet backed a recommendation that "every possible effort" should be made to to identify and deliver further efficiency savings, so that extra cuts to services could be avoided.

Council leader Dyfrig Siencyn added: "The worst case scenario is a terrifying one indeed, but we want to be in a position to be able to answer the challenges whatever they may be.

"When we have a clearer idea of the funding gap following the settlement which we anticipate we'll be in a position to react."

The Gwynedd cabinet said the management review should be finished by the end of 2018, to mitigate the "uncertainty it could create for key officers".