Job Cuts Shock

Councillors were shocked to learn yesterday (Monday) that Council jobs were to be cut by a massive 30%.

Members of Somerset County Council and all five District Councils in Somerset gathered in Taunton on Monday to hear about efficiency savings planned by the so-called ‘Pioneer Somerset’ group. The group comprises the Leaders and Chief Executives of all six councils who have been meeting together to find ways to save costs. It was set up after the failure last year of the ill-fated bid for a single unitary council for Somerset.

Presentations were made by the Chief Executives and by the Deputy Regional Director of the Government Office for the South West. A number of ideas were floated for discussion by the Councillors present.

But it was in the question and answer session after the presentations that the matter of job cuts was raised. And it was only then that the bombshell was dropped. In what was almost a throw away line, the Somerset County Council representative calmly announced that he expected the job cuts to be 30% of the workforce.

After the meeting Conservative Group Leader at Somerset County Council, Ken Maddock, said: “We were all shocked to hear of job cuts of this magnitude, and especially shocked to hear it announced in this way. This will alarm thousands of council workers and their families at what is already a difficult time. We all know that prices are rising fast and many people have real difficulty in making ends meet right now. I call upon the Leader of the Council to clarify these irresponsible remarks which will be so worrying to so many hard-working families in Somerset.”