Wakefield Council’s budget, which includes 1,400 job cuts and the reduction of services, has been agreed by cabinet.
The council, which must save £61m over the next two years, warned ‘deteriorating services and fewer jobs’ are the themes of its budget report. The reorganisation of services will see around 1,400 jobs go at the council, in addition to the 1,000 posts already lost.
The budget also includes plans to increase council tax by 1.99%, a £20m cut from adult care and £5m cut from children’s services.
Leader of Wakefield Council, Cllr Peter Box, said: ‘We’ve now reached the stage where it would be wrong to say that we can continue to protect front line services. We will do our best, but we can’t offer any guarantees. Next year will see us making significant savings, but mostly buying some time for the major cuts to follow in 2015/16 and beyond. I hate to say it, but there is no doubt that service quality will start to suffer. This is the reality we face.’
Chief executive, Joanne Roney, added: ‘These cuts will mean a significant change in the way services are delivered to residents, and a big change in the workforce. Over 1,000 posts have already gone, and there are likely to be around 1,400 people leaving the Council over the next few years.’
The budget will be presented by Cllr Box on 26 February
