Possible compulsory redundancies at Northumberland Council
The leader of Northumberland County Council has warned he cannot rule out the possibility of compulsory redundancies for staff – but insisted it is not a route he wants to go down.
Councillor Glen Sanderson made the the remarks during a state of the county address at Castle Morpeth Local Area Council on Monday.
It comes after all staff were offered the chance to apply for voluntary redundancy earlier this year.
That offer came when the council’s finances looked in dire shape, with a potential £17 million shortfall in the authority’s budgets identified in September. However, work has been ongoing to address the issue, and it is now believed that the council can cover any overspend with money that was previously set aside to deal with inflation.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting, Coun Sanderson said: “I do not want to see widespread redundancies and I don’t want to have compulsory redundancies.
“I can’t say we will, but I don’t want it to happen. I want us to treat our staff the same way we would expect to be treated if we worked for the council.
“There will be difficult decisions, and I cannot guarantee there won’t be compulsory redundancies, but we will avoid them if we can.”
Coun Richard Wearmouth, the council’s deputy leader, explained that the council’s finances were now in a far healthier position.
He said: “The settlement that came back from Government was at the better end of our hopes and expectations. As a council the mid-year position was we were projecting significant overspends, but we have got that under control.
“By the end of this year’s budget, we should be able to cover any overspend with the money that was set aside. That’s an exceptional achievement from the officers and from the administration.”
Coun Wearmouth added that while inflation was slowing down, it remained a significant issue for the council. Various cost increases included:
Pay inflation: The overall average increase for the council equated to 7.28% Electricity – 139% above 2021/22 base External audit fee – 150% increase Gas (above 2021/22 base) 281% increase Insurance – 16% increase Vehicle fuel – 24% increase Water – 10.1% increase