Poposals to restructure Welsh local government could result in 15,000 job losses, a big four accountancy firm has calculated.
Figures provided by Deloitte to the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) suggest changes arising from the eagerly-anticipated Williams Commission are likely to cost more than £250m to implement.
Set to announce its recommendations on Monday, the Commission is likely to recommend a drastic reduction in the current number of 22 Welsh councils.
The WLGA’s submission to the Commission argues a 10% headcount reduction ‘may be deemed not unreasonable in the new structure’.
‘This could see 15,000 jobs reduced across management and other parts of the workforce whether through retirement, voluntary redundancy or downsizing,’ the paper reads.
‘This is, of course, not factoring in potential ob losses over the next five years as a result of cuts,.’
Analysis by Deloitte, based on similar reorganisations across the UK, suggested the costs of restructuring cold vary from £200m to £400m in 2016/17 prices.
Capital financing costs could be equivalent to increasing council tax bills by 1% to 2%.