MAJOR layoffs at Somerset Council will hurt council services and do not mean it can avoid going bust, trade unions have warned.
The council is laying off more than 550 people as part of its “transformation” programme to bring down its spending.
The council faces a crisis where the demand for and cost of adult and children’s social care services is rising faster than council funding.
The council raised council tax by 7.5 per cent and is selling off its assets to plug its budget gap for the next financial year, but spending is still expected to outstrip income by £101m again the year after.
Protesting outside Somerset County Cricket Club where the council met to agree its budget on March 5, Unison branch secretary Micheál Duffy said: “The budget is balanced for this year — but it’s reliant on the capitalisation of assets. But that’s not sustainable going forward. Our concern is that will end up in the same position with more job cuts.”
Addressing the meeting, Unison’s Neil Guild said: “Council staff, who are residents and voters themselves, have little confidence in councillors to grapple with the challenges facing Somerset. Staff morale is at an all time low and many staff regularly express a wish to leave.
“The current set of cuts and job losses will lead to reduced services for residents and still do not guarantee that Somerset will avoid a section 114 notice in the future.”
Theo Butt Philip (Wells, Liberal Democrat), the council’s cabinet member for transformation, insisted the council’s transformation programme needed to balance costs long term, and said it had a “robust people strategy.” He said: “We have taken a number of decisions locally to protect non-statutory services but the system is clearly broken on a national level.”
But outside, protestors were concerned the impact of the cuts was not being considered. Helen Eccles said: “In our negotiations its clear, in their focus on balancing the books they are not really looking at the impact of those decisions.”
Nigel Behan, Unite representative, said he did not have confidence in the council. He said: “They are going to be in the same hole this time again next year.”
The council predicts it will face a £101m black hole in 2026/27 — rising to £190m by 2029/30.
Council leader Bill Revans (North Petherton, Liberal Democrat) warned that if the council could not balance its budget, it would be forced to issue a section 114 notice which would see government commissioners take over its finances.
Mr Revans described Somerset’s exceptional council tax increase agreed with the government as “above the cap by a modest two-and-a-half per cent,” warning that if Somerset ended up in the hands of government commissioners, they would raise council tax by double digits.
Councillors voted 59-34 in favour of passing the budget, with two abstentions — despite warnings that voting down the budget would force the council to issue a section 114 notice, as no alternative budgets had been proposed.