Shropshire Council lays bare full scale of cuts

The full scale of the latest cuts affecting Shropshire Council services were today laid bare as bosses try to save almost £25 million by 2014.

A range of services, such as arts and culture, education, youth provision and day centres will lose money under the plans outlined in the authority's spending strategy.

The cuts are the latest to be considered by Shropshire Council, which needs to save £86m in total over four years.

The authority says it is trying to minimise job losses and will find new ways to deliver services for less money, as well as moving funding around.

The latest costs were revealed to members of the performance and strategy scrutiny committee yesterday during a meeting to look at the council's financial strategy.

The proposed cuts include £343,000 to come from the council's advisory service by 2014.

The number of posts to go has yet to be confirmed, and the council is warned that there may be 'some potential direct impact on young people in schools'.

Extended school services will lose two staff and £57,000, and the music service will lose out. Early years services will lose £200,000 from its £5m budget.

Day care centres and residential homes are also facing cuts, although the council maintains that support is not being removed; rather it will be provided in a different way.

Increased early intervention work will reduce the number of older children needing to go into care, while more short breaks will be offered to disabled youngsters.

A review of public transport is expected to save £200,000 in 2013/14.

Elsewhere, the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, in Craven Arms, faces losing £45,000 from its budget next year and a further £40,000 in 2013/14.

The plans to cut the centre's budget are part of an overall £370,000 cut planned for arts and culture, which includes a £30,000 reduction in the operating budget of Acton Scott Working Farm near Craven Arms.

As a result, hundreds of volunteers will be needed to help deliver Shropshire's visitor economy, including museums, service manager Louise

Cross told members of Shropshire Council's the performance and strategy scrutiny committee at Shirehall yesterday.

But Councillor Heather Kidd said she was 'really concerned ' about the discovery centre's future.

There are also plans to make savings on contracts with a number of suppliers.

For example, deals with information technology providers will be renegotiated, and it is estimated that £35,000 can be cut from the £110,000 mobile phone contract.

The council is also setting out plans to save money by offering a range of services from libraries.

These 'service hubs', which are currently under consultation with staff, could allow the council to sell off buildings.

Meanwhile, the cost of Shropshire Council's plan to save money by joining several groups of workers into one department will be 60 jobs and £1.78 million.

The figure includes £1.375m in redundancy costs and more than £200,000 to move 550 staff from Shirehall to the Guildhall in the centre of Shrewsbury.

The move involves finance, human resources and IT staff going to the Guildhall, and education workers move from there to Shirehall.

The council estimates that shared services will save £2.3m by 2014 and further savings will be made as the project is expanded.

The move will begin at the end of February and take until the first week of April to complete.

Tim Smith, group manager for facilities management, said officers were looking at more cost-effective ways of delivering services.

The strategy will go before the council's ruling Cabinet next Wednesday before returning to the scrutiny committee on February 10. It will then be go before the full council on February 23.

See also:

• 100 jobs to go in Shropshire Council cuts