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Council chief Mike Moore |
‘Residents facing £10m bill as City Hall moves to axe staff’
‘Threat to front line services’ as Westminster plans to cut up to 300 jobs
FEARS that redundancies at City Hall will hit front line services have been raised after council chief executive Mike More wrote to staff warning them that up to 300 jobs will go over the next year.
The letter seen by West End Extra says “restructuring” will make 520 staff “vulnerable” to redundancies.
While Westminster City Council maintains services will not be affected, it has emerged that 132 posts are set to be axed from frontline departments, including children’s services and adult social care.
Karen Buck MP for Regent’s Park said claims it will be “business as usual” do not stand up.
She said: “If they really mean what they say, then they have been running very inefficiently for a long time. I don’t believe something of this magnitude can happen without damaging front line services.”
The council has earmarked £10million to pay redundancy costs, balanced by a £14million saving it hopes to make over the next two years.
The letter states: “The new council organisation will provide better services and be more focused on priority projects, but will also have to be more efficient, reducing the number of people we employ by up to 300 posts over the next year.
“As a result this week we will issue letters to around 520 staff whose roles have been categorised as ‘vulnerable’ as a result of our plans. This does not mean that these roles will be made redundant, but it does indicate that the posts are at risk of redundancy.
“All public authorities will have to retrench in the next few years.
“While the prospect of being one of the first councils in the country to make these changes and improve services will be of little consolation to those receiving a vulnerability letter this week, everyone will have an opportunity to have their say.”
The cuts will be approved by cabinet members in September, with a timetable set to reduce its workforce of 2,766 by 190 posts by the end of 2009.
Labour group leader Paul Dimoldenberg said: “This is very bad news for council staff and Westminster residents. Fewer staff means worse services.
“And the £10million cost of this massive redundancy package is a huge bill for Westminster residents to pay.
“Once again, Westminster residents and council staff are paying the price of the Conservatives reckless £17million investment in now-failed Icelandic banks.
“It is extraordinary that the architects of this massive financial disaster are still occupying leading positions at City Hall while the innocent victims are being made redundant.” |
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