Shropshire Council confirms consultation on 'restructure' for school meals and cleaning service
A consultation is underway over the 'restructure' of a council service that provides school meals and cleaning services across the county.
Shropshire Council said the consultation had already started with 'head office' staff at Shire Services, its catering a cleaning unit, over the changes.
The council was asked if it is proposing redundancies at the department, but said it did not yet know, with a spokesman saying: "Details of the restructure and any impact on jobs won’t be known until this consultation is complete."
It comes a week after it was revealed that Shropshire Council was also consulting with staff in its pest control service – saying staff roles were at risk, but that they could be redeployed to elsewhere.
The moves comes as Shropshire Council faces the task of making more than £50m of savings this financial year in a bid to balance its books.
A spokesman for the council said the restructure plans for Shire Services were about trying to get the service to make a profit – and be more efficient.
He said: "Shire Services is currently in a period of consultation with its head office staff regarding a proposed restructure of the service.
"The aim of the restructure is to achieve a trading position that will deliver a profit and allow the service to develop a more efficient approach to service delivery."
Asked what the nature of the restructure would be – and if it would result in redundancies, the council said: "We’re proposing to restructure the service to make it more efficient and deliver better value for money for the council and Council Tax payer.
"This consultation is to seek the views of staff about the nature and timing of the restructure and what form it may take.
"Details of the restructure and any impact on jobs won’t be known until this consultation is complete."
Shire Services provides school meals for primary and secondary schools in Shropshire, as well as catering services to further education colleges and schools in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, North Wales and the West Midlands.
It also provides cleaning services to 150 educational sites and council buildings in the county, along with specialist cleaning and health & safety consultancy services.
