Redundancies saving Shropshire and Telford councils millions a year

The council has revealed that a total of 1,119 staff have been made redundant over the past three years – 72 per cent of whom took voluntary redundancy.

It comes after Shropshire Council's finance officer James Walton revealed earlier this month that at least £16 million had been spent on redundancies, including funds earmarked for other services.

Meanwhile, Telford & Wrekin Council has spent nearly £6 million on more than 200 redundancies in the past six years – but leaders say the move is saving the authority more than £22 million a year.

The council has revealed a total of 671 staff have been made redundant since 2010, of which 64 were compulsory redundancies.

Figures released by the authority revealed one third of job cuts – 221 redundancies – had taken place in the past three years.

Telford & Wrekin Council spokesman Russell Griffin said: "The total cost of both voluntary and compulsory redundancies during this period is £5.95 million.

"The total per annum saving from deleting posts is £22.5 million.

"Since 2009/10, we have reduced the council's senior management team by 58 per cent – which is over twice the national average.

"We have cut the pay of our most senior post by 30 per cent in real terms and cut the number of middle managers by 39 per cent.

"Total cuts to date are £80m with another £30m being implemented both this year and next year. It is likely that we will have to cut a further £15m to £20m after that, which would mean total cuts by 2020 would be in the region of £125 to £130m."

Clive Wright, chief executive of Shropshire Council, said the spendings on redundancies there had led to huge savings over the years.

He said: "Since 2009, Shropshire Council has had to save £146 million due to significant government funding cuts. Like all councils, we're faced with the need to make further substantial savings in the coming years and by 2020/21 we estimate that we'll need to save a further £77 million.

"One way in which we have achieved savings is by cutting bureaucracy, by changing the way we work, and becoming more efficient as a result.

"The more efficient we have become, the fewer staff we need to deliver our services. When we consider redundancies across all of the council's services including our schools over the past three years – 2013/14 to 2015/16– 1,119 members of staff have left.

"The vast majority of these – 72 per cent – have left through voluntary redundancy. All have left with our thanks and good wishes.

"When employees leave us through redundancy they are legally entitled to a redundancy payment so this is money that we must pay.

"So far redundancy payments amount to £18.6 million, some of which was funded by an earmarked redundancy reserve, and some funded within services or schools directly."

Mr Wright said that the figure represented a "fraction" of savings it had helped make.

He also added that over the same period, the council has removed almost £90 million from its base budget, savings made every year.

He said: "It is fairer to say that the one-off cost of £18.6 million has so far saved the council £161 million, and will continue to save us another £90 million each and every year into the future.

"We understand the impact that redundancy can have on the individuals affected, and on the local economy. For that reason the vast majority of these former colleagues have left us through voluntary redundancy – with only a small number of compulsory redundancies.

"We're pleased that many of our former employees have found jobs with other employers – and some have used voluntary redundancy as an opportunity to set up their own business."