By Mick Burrows
On these web pages you will find out what the budget pressures are, what will be happening in each department in 2010-11, why we need to make changes, and how many posts are at risk.
It should give you an overview of what’s happening outside your own area of work and answer some of the questions you may have.
I know many colleagues will be reading this with concern about our future. We know these are difficult times for all of us. This is the first year of an ongoing cycle of public sector budget pressures which will present further challenges to the County Council over the next few years.
Like every other council across the country we face challenges to balance the books. We have a responsibility to protect services used by vulnerable people.
I would like to reassure you that we have considered all possible options to ensure any proposed reduction in posts is minimised. The estimated figure currently stands at around 470 posts — that’s less than two per cent of our 28,000 workforce.
The Council intends to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum by continuing the vacancy control, redeployment, natural staff turnover and voluntary redundancies, which will help to create new opportunities for people whose posts have been deleted, but still want to continue working for the Council.
Some of the proposals may affect colleagues who could be transferred to external providers under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (TUPE). Any staff affected will transfer on the same terms and conditions. I know this proposal will create a period of uncertainty and concern for those colleagues directly affected. We will do all we can to ensure you are kept fully aware of proposals and developments.
At this stage, the budget proposals are just that — proposals. They will not be confirmed and finalised until February next year, when we also receive the grant settlement and confirm council tax collection levels.
This is a three-year plan and by 2013 we will need to save almost £85m. Some of the efficiency savings and budget proposals will save us hundreds of thousands of pounds, whilst others are much smaller — but they all add up to the £33m of savings we need to find next year.
Of course, more savings are going to be needed in the following two years and much of the work we do now will set the scene for those years.
It is important to highlight that of the £33m proposed savings in 2010-11, approximately 31m will be reinvested into critical services which will be under severe pressure in future years — for example, to care for the growing number of elderly and vulnerable people in the county and to cover the increasing costs of looking after younger adults with severe mental or physical disabilities, as well as safeguarding children at risk.
Many of us will be affected by the proposed changes to terms and conditions — if implemented, these proposals alone will save us £2.9m each year — without these savings we would have to make even more job and service reductions.
Finally, I am confident that we will get through this despite the difficulties. I know many of you will continue to give your utmost in terms of commitment and professionalism.
I believe the proposals are carefully balanced to ensure we continue being a good council and a good place to work. I give you my personal assurance that we will do our best to ensure you are consulted and kept abreast of developments as we progress through the consultation period.
