Jobs and services to go as council aims to save £3m
RUTLAND County Council will have to cut services and jobs to deal with a £3m cut in funding over the next year.
Council leader Roger Begy (Con) said it was "inevitable" services and jobs would be affected after the scale of the reduction in Government grants was confirmed this week.
The 3m deficit amounts to 10 per cent of the council's external funding.
The council is also expecting to be told it cannot increase council tax next year.
Further cuts in funding for future years are expected to be announced in the next few months.
But Coun Begy welcomed the relaxing of rules which dictate how councils spend their money.
He said: "We have spent a significant number of years having to prioritise what central government wants, with a whole set of specific targets and controlled funding. There is now much greater freedom which enables us to focus more on what the Rutland community wants, albeit with a reduced budget."
"The council has already made significant savings averaging around 750,000 per year during the last three years. This has left us in the strongest financial position since we became a unitary authority.
"However, it is inevitable that we will have to reduce services and the number of staff that work for the council."
Central government has already announced specific cuts in revenue - 350,000 in education as well as capital approaching 1m in highways and children and young people.
Coun Begy said: "This has come as no particular surprise to anyone as it had been well predicted before the election – whoever won it. However, it does not make it any easier for those who could be affected by this."
In October, further savings are expected to be announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review. There are forecasts that funding will be reduced by a minimum of 25 per cent and up to 40 per cent as part of that review.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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