Lancashire County Council to axe 367 full time job

Lancashire County Council's Cabinet has approved plans to save £65m over the next two years in an attempt to tackle a £262m funding gap by 2020.

Published 27th Nov 2015

Lancashire County Council's Cabinet has approved plans to save £65m over the next two years in an attempt to tackle a £262m funding gap by 2020.

It means town hall bosses will have to axe the equivalent of 367 full time jobs. County Councillor Jennifer Mein, Leader of Lancashire County Council, said:

"The decisions we have taken today are heartbreaking but reflect the unprecedented financial situation we face. I didn't come into politics to cut services but years of relentless central government cuts combined with a rising demand for our services mean we have to find huge savings. "Even with these measures we still face a funding gap of nearly £200m by 2020 so unless central government has a change of heart there will be harder decisions to take in future. We are using the bulk of our reserves just to balance the budget over the next two years. We will do all that we can to protect the vulnerable but these are very difficult times." Other proposals approved include: Removing funding for all subsidised bus services, to save £7.5m per year Reducing the county council's library network from 74 libraries to 34, to save c£7m Ending the funding of five museums: Queen Street Mill, Helmshore, Museum of Lancashire, Judges' Lodgings, Fleetwood Museum Removing the subsidy for discretionary denominational transport Reducing the Highways budget by £2.8m At the same meeting, Cabinet approved plans to achieve a long-term reduction in the County Council's corporate property portfolio. Under this strategy, public services would be delivered from a network of multi-functional Neighbourhood Centres, determined on the basis of the needs of local communities.