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More jobs set to be axed at County Hall




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An extra 1,500 jobs could go at Nottinghamshire County Council as the authority attempts to save £150m over the next three years.

The council announced today that the total number of redundancies it needs to make between now and 2013 had increased to nearly 3,000 - a quarter of its workforce.

It has blamed the increase on the significant rise in demand for care for adults and children and the speed and scale of predicted Government reductions.

When it agreed its budget in February the council had said 483 jobs were at risk, with a further 1,000 set to go over the next three years.

But its forecast of a required £80m in savings over that period has now nearly doubled to £150m. Of that figure, £69m needs to be saved next year.

The council's chief executive, Mr Mick Burrows, said: "Unfortunately, it is inevitable that large scale reductions in staffing are required given that employee costs form a large part of our spending and the significant savings we need to make over the next few years.

"This is a difficult time for our workforce but we are aiming to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies by offering most employees the chance to express an interest in voluntary redundancy, freezing vacancies and stopping all non-essential spending.”

Letters will be sent out to the majority of the council's 12,000 staff from Monday inviting them to make an expression of interest in voluntary redundancy.

Social workers, social work assistants and locality support assistants within the children and young people department’s reception and assessment teams will not be able to apply for voluntary redundancy.

The general secretary of Unison, Mr Dave Prentis, called on the county council to think again about its plans.

"Job cuts on this scale are a bitter blow to the local community and will hit thousands of families in the county hard. The jobs market is tough, and people will struggle to find work elsewhere," he said.



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