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Middlesbrough Council set to lose up to 1,500 staff Middlesbrough Council set to lose up to 1,500 staff
(about 4 hours later)
A Teesside council could lose more than half of its workforce over the next three years as it attempts to make savings of almost £70m. The loss of 1,000 jobs at Middlesbrough Council over the next three years is the "best case scenario", mayor Ray Mallon has said.
Up to 1,500 jobs will be cut at Middlesbrough Council as it addresses a budget shortfall brought on by changes in government funding and additional pressure on services. Up to 1,500 staff could be axed by 2017 due to a funding gap of almost £70m.
The authority is making cuts of about £13m in the current financial year. Mr Mallon said services would be closed and multimillion-pound projects reviewed in an attempt to stop the town "fraying at the edges".
It has just over 2,500 full time staff, excluding those in schools. The government said Middlesbrough received more funding than the national average and it should cut wastage.
Independent mayor Ray Mallon is due to speak about the budget process at a meeting on Wednesday. Mr Mallon outlined the financial situation to councillors at a meeting on Wednesday and said he hoped action taken would "reduce substantially" the number of potential job cuts, but the loss of about 1,000 posts was "the best case scenario".
A document presented to staff and seen by BBC News states between 1,200 and 1,500 jobs could go by the end of 2017. He said it was a "real shame" staff would be made redundant but insisted the council was "duty bound" to cut spending.
More than £32m of the savings are necessary due to changes in government funding, it adds. 'Temperature rising'
'Simply impossible' The council has just over 2,500 full-time staff, excluding those in schools.
Conservative group leader Chris Hobson said the town "would not sustain" such a large number of job losses. More than £32m of the required savings are necessary due to changes in government funding and the authority is facing an increased demand on care services, Mr Mallon said.
"These people go out and spend money in Middlesbrough," she said. "We've got to look at things differently. "By 2018 or 2019, 75% of the council's budget will be spent on helping children and the elderly.
"We've got to start running this council as a business, we've got to start bringing money in ourselves and thinking about how we can do that." "The temperature has been rising for a long time and it's still rising."
Charlie Rooney, leader of the Labour group, said it was "simply impossible" to make the required savings without job losses. Ahead of the meeting, Labour group leader Charlie Rooney said the town was being "devastated" by government cuts.
Mr Rooney said Middlesbrough had been "devastated" by government cuts. Conservative group leader Chris Hobson called on the authority to "start doing things differently".
In a statement, the Department for Communities and Local Government said Middlesbrough received more funding than the national average and insisted the council could do more to reduce wastage and protect services. "We've got to start running this council as a business," she said. "We've got to start bringing money in ourselves and thinking about how we can do that."
Mr Mallon will announce a list of specific budget proposals next month.