Region is warned of deep cut in services

In a stark warning to residents, Powys County Council leader David Jones said the authority is facing a £20 million shortfall over the next financial year and a "staggering" £40 million gap over the next three years.

The council says it is carrying out its biggest ever review of services which could also involve compulsory redundancies and losing services such as libraries and council buildings.

Councillor Jones warned that nothing is safe and said public services in the county will "change forever".

Vulnerable

The news comes just a week after Shropshire Council's cabinet agreed to make a further £80 million in savings over the next three years, with about £37 million of the cuts to be found from the areas of adult social care and children and young people's services.

The council announced earlier this year that three adult day centres face the axe in a shake-up of care across the county.

The Hartley's day centre in Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, and the Sabrina Court day centre in Longden Coleham, also in Shrewsbury, are earmarked for closure as well as the Innage Lane day centre in Bridgnorth.

Two centres deemed no longer fit for purpose in Oswestry – Avalon and Lorne Street – will also be closed and replaced.

Campaigners fighting the planned closure have taken the fight to the High Court and a decision is due in the coming days.

Telford & Wrekin Council has also announced plans to close an industrial unit on the Bridges Business Park in Horsehay which it uses as a day centre for vulnerable adults.

On the situation in Powys, Councillor Jones said: "Next year's funding cut of 4.5 per cent from the Welsh Assembly which follows a series of disappointing budget allocations, unavoidable cost increases and ever increasing service demands have left the council in a very difficult financial position.

"The scale of the problem means we have to make fundamental changes in the way we deliver services. It is impossible to work the way we have in the past with the funding we have today.

"We need public support to take responsibility for services that we can no longer provide. It has happened in the past, we have excellent examples of communities taking on valuable services such as tourism, libraries and public facilities but we need more.

"The county council cannot provide everything and some facilities will have to be taken over by others or are likely be lost.

"Some of the areas we have to consider include the way we provide adult day centres, provide meals on wheels, and the eligibility criteria for adult care.

"We have to look at the buildings we own, the services we provide such as libraries, sports and leisure centres, their numbers and locations.

"There will have to be painful decisions and we are acutely aware that any reduction will be felt far more in a rural county like Powys than in a more urban environment.

"We'll have to look at support for public transport and services like waste management. As a council we will be doing our part reducing management layers, reducing costs, increasing income where possible and ensuring that we recover costs due to the council. This may result in a reduction in staff numbers, although it is too early to say how many or where.

"We will work hard to keep any compulsory redundancies to a minimum. Many of our services were developed in the 1970s and haven't changed much since. Some no longer reflect what people actually need."

Councillor Jones added that a consultation period would be launched in early 2014 to see what changes people think should be made and more details will be announced soon. He added: "There is no doubt that the face of public services in Powys will change forever."