170 council jobs face axe to cut costs

More than 170 jobs are set to be axed at Wolverhampton City Council by next March as part of a major cost-cutting drive, it emerged today. Walsall Council must also save up to £43 million in five years.

This would also raise fears of redundancies.

The revelations are the latest cuts by West Midland councils looking to save from budgets in order to keep council tax rises low.

Around 78 of the expected job losses at Wolverhampton Council will come from the adults and community department, which includes library, parks and cemetery staff, while the rest will come from across all other areas of the council.

The job losses are part of plans to cut £40 million from the budget by 2011, and are revealed in a report going to the Tory cabinet on Wednesday which says 111 staff have already taken voluntary redundancy this year.

Wolverhampton Council is going to launch a new voluntary redundancy scheme on Thursday, and has allocated £5.4 million to paying staff off.

Walsall Council, which says its cuts are designed to keep council tax rises to 4.5 per cent, is shedding 50 jobs, Cannock Chase District Council is letting 27 staff go, 10 are being axed at Sandwell Council and warnings of possible redundancies in Dudley by the spring.

Councillor Joan Stevenson said: "We are being open and honest about it, we are in a mess."