A huge 710,000 public sector job losses are expected by 2017 and will hit the poorest areas of the UK hardest, according to the TUC.
The job cuts, which were originally expected to number 400,000, will have a "devastating" impact on regional labour markets in the North East of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the organisation said on publishing its analysis of the most recent regional and local public sector unemployment figures.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the study revealed that unemployment was set to get "much, much worse".
"Apart from the huge effect that the job cuts will have upon the provision of public services across the UK, mass redundancies across the public sector are bad news for our struggling economy, and will have a devastating impact upon local high streets, as newly unemployed public sector workers stop spending," he added.
Basing its calculations on the level of job losses occurring in relation to current public sector employment, the trade union umbrella body forecast that a total 25,992 posts would go in Northern Ireland, equating to a 3.2% reduction of its entire workforce.
Wales would see a 3% cut in the number of people in employment, with 39,703 public sector positions set to be axed, while Scotland would see its total number of workers drop by 2.8% as 70,225 lost their jobs. The cuts would be felt particularly strongly in the North East of England, however, the TUC said. Here the fact that 2.9% of the entire workforce were expected to lose their jobs would add to the region’s already high unemployment rate of 11.7%.
By contrast, the South East and East of England will be the least affected, with public sector job cuts amounting to 80,836 and 52,937 respectively – the equivalent of 1.9% of the total number of workers in each region.
False economy
A left of centre website, meanwhile, has collated a number of regional press stories that suggest cuts are only just going to start biting, with many Town Halls planning to use outsourcing as a way to deal with austerity.
In particular, the site, ‘False Economy,’ points to Barnet Council – ‘our favourite mass-privatising council’ – for its controversial plans to cut another £43 million from budgets by reducing services and introducing higher parking charges.
Initiatives include slashing £14.5 million from adult social care and £9.5 million from children’s services, while somehow finding £750 million in 2011 to engage a private partner in a “support and customer services project" (possibly Capita?).
That contract will see the winning outsourcer delivering services such as HR, social housing, finance, information systems, procurement, revenues and benefits and project management services. Opponents have said there are serious questions to answer first about the authority’s ability to run procurement processes and manage its relationships with the private sector.
But Barnet isn’t the only body being singled out for its proposals on how to deal with less funding from the centre. On the South Coast, unions in Southampton are set for confrontation over the Council’s plans to cut about 220 jobs as part of £15 million budget cuts in 2012 as well as its plans to mass-outsource services and redefine itself as a commissioning council – one that buys all of its services in from the private sector. Details will be agreed at a Council meeting on 15 February.
Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council is consulting on cuts that it wants to make to reduce its 2012-13 budget by £65 million, a move that could lead to at least 1,200 posts being lost on top of a repro 2,500 in 2011. According to the Birmingham branc of Unison, areas for potential cuts include home care, Children, Young People and Family Grant-funded children’s homes, adult social care residential homes and adoption and fostering. The proposed budget will go before Cabinet on 13 February and the full Council on 28 February.
Bradford is saying cuts of £31 million will be required to balance books across departments such as adult and community and children and young people’s services. About 600 job losses are expected. Council leader Ian Greenwood has told the city’s local press it would be “dishonest” to say the cuts won’t affect services. Consultations on proposals last until 7 February 2012 and the budget will be decided at a full Council meeting on Thursday 23 February 2012.
Bristol is also consulting on £21 million in jobs and services that are to be cut from April 2012. Opponents claim plans include the closure or privatisation of care homes and day centres for the elderly, plus a £1 million reduction in the youth services budget. Job losses of 350 are being talked about, but the body will finalise its decision at a full Council meeting on 28 February 2012.
The Manchester Evening News reports that libraries in Bury could shut, highways maintenance suffer and leisure centres, youth services and services for the elderly may take hits “as [council] chiefs bring in ‘savage’ cuts to try to save £32 million.” Official plans include suggestions for making savings by ”realising efficiencies in older people’s care homes, learning disability services and assessment and care management, reducing demand/need for care services due to the introduction of the reablement service” and so on. Residents will know more at the 22 February council meeting.
Cumbria county council must reduce the revenue budget by £19.6 million and is consulting on two “projects” in particular to balance the books – increasing residential parking charges and decreasing the subsidies it pays for people who use adult social care. About 600 jobs were lost in 2011 and the Council says that budget pressures after this year will “intensify”. A full Council meeting 16 or 23 February 2012 will reveal all.
Doncaster has already axed 1000 jobs since it began implementing austerity measures, but says it needs to lose £30 million out of its 2012 budget. But it is facing union opposition to plans that involve cutting pay by 4% for all non-school staff earning more than £15,000. The closing date for the consultation is 20 January, 2012.
Dorset County Council is aiming for cuts of £5. 6 million in 2012 and wants to save a further £15.2 million on top. A review and restructure of mental health services for young, disabled and elderly people (there are many elderly people in Dorset) are likely to be hit with proposed reductions in concessionary fares. At least 500 jobs were at risk in 2011. Council meeting to decide all this set for ‘February 2012’.
Gateshead says it needs to save £38 million over the next two years and has just finished (13 January) a public consultation on its proposals, which include cutting adult social care provision, outsourcing leisure and cultural services and cutting community safety grants. At least 450 jobs are due to be cut by April this year and 2,500 staff have been issued with 90-day redundancy notices. A Council meeting is due to be held on 1 March 2012.
Leicester City Council indicates that more than 200 jobs will be lost as it cuts £20 million from this year’s budget as part of bigger plans to cut a total of £70 million from its £500 million annual budget over three years. At least 70 jobs are likely to be axed in children’s services, including staff who help to reduce teen pregnancies and those who work with young offenders (for a saving of £4 million). Budgets and cuts are expected to be agreed upon at the next Council meeting on 26 January, although that could change.
Over in Liverpool, there will be a public Council meeting (and protest) on 18 January to decide which services must go as £50 million is cut from budgets this year. Some £31 million in savings were approved in November. Proposals include reducing budgets for the teenage pregnancy service and parent partnership service, which helps families with disabled children. Children’s centres will also be subject to a review of posts in order to make savings.
Across in Middlesbrough, the council is “consulting” with residents about which services to cut as the authority looks to make a further £14 million in service and job cuts during 2012. More than 100 jobs are due to be lost. Proposals for cuts include closing two youth and community centres, axing street warden posts and closing the mobile library and dial-a-ride services. The Council is meeting on March 5.
Near neighbor Newcastle is consulting on a very wide range of proposed cuts as part of a consultation process that is set to run until 15 February 2012. Proposals include rationalising services for people with disabilities, taking wardens out of sheltered housing and replacing them with a telecare alarm system and capping high-cost care packages. At least 360 jobs are set to go. The Council’s Cabinet will meet on 22 February to look at responses and the Council itself will meet to agree the budget on 7 March 2012.
North Tyneside will cut budgets by £17 million this year at the cost of about 300 jobs, with the local press saying that Council workers may be transferred to private companies in the near future. Councillors have been on fact-finding missions to “see how other authorities coped with privatising services ranging from highways maintenance and street lighting to the collecting of council tax and other bills,” and its Mayor has been quoted as saying that: “The only way for the private sector to save money is to either offer lower wages or use fewer staff”. The Council meeting here will be held on March 2012.
Sheffield is looking to slim down by 690 jobs as it looks to save more than £50 million in the coming financial year. Redundant roles will include enforcement officers, manual workers and clerical staff as well as managers. The Council meeting on all this is set for 9 March 2012.
At Stoke on Trent, plans to cuts budgets by £24 million this year have been announced and threatened services include day centres and respite care for the elderly and disabled. More than 360 jobs are expected to be lost. The Council meeting here is set for February 2.
Finally, local community leaders and local residents are objecting to Trafford’s plans that could lead to the loss of 103 jobs in libraries that are also run by volunteers. The council says it must save £16.1 million next year and it looks as though it will try to do that at least partly by replacing paid staff in libraries with volunteers.
The Council is also running a consultation exercise on plans to reduce adult social care costs by £5.9 million, while the transformation and resources department will lose £2.8 million and communities and wellbeing will lose £2.8 million and £6.8million respectively. Budgets and cuts will be agreed on at a Council meeting set for 22 February 2012.
So it looks like the first and second quarter of this year are going to be pretty tough both jobs and service-wise in local government then.
