Wiltshire Council made £1.2m in redundancy payments last year
It's one of the highest of any local authority in England
Last updated 5th Aug 2025
Wiltshire Council made £1.2 million in redundancy payments in the year 2024-25, according to government data.
The £1,239,000 sum is one of the highest of any local authority in England, and far exceeds payments made in 2023-24 (£278,000), 2022-23 (£556,000), or 2021-22 (£698,000).
Lucy Townsend, chief executive of Wiltshire Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the council was forced to make “structural changes” due to “ongoing financial pressures.”
“As an organisation that employs around 5,300 staff redundancy costs can fluctuate significantly from year to year depending on the scale and nature of organisational change,” she explained.
“While the figure for 2024–25 is higher than in previous years, it reflects a number of necessary structural changes made to ensure the council continues to deliver services as efficiently and effectively as possible in the face of ongoing financial pressures.”
She added: “Redundancies are always a last resort, and we have robust policies and procedures in place to support affected staff.
“We take every possible step to redeploy individuals into other roles within the organisation to protect employment wherever we can.
“As we continue to navigate a challenging financial landscape, we must regularly review how we deliver services to ensure they remain sustainable.”
The figures are published annually by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.