Wirral Social Services Jobs Threatened In £45m plan

Jobs and services at Wirral Council are expected to be cut to try and fill a £60m funding deficit over the next three years.

Cuts worth £45m are planned across the council to try to fill the gap between their spending and their income.

The news comes after the government announced local council funding levels.

The savings will include job losses in social services, increased charges for some residential care. The staffing of a CCTV control room will be reduced.

Wirral Council said it did not want a major council tax hike to fund the cuts.

Council leader Steve Foulkes said: “We don’t intend to pass the costs onto the council tax payer we will find it within our own resources.

“We will attempt to become a more efficient machine and deliver good value service but we will have less people here.

“There’s no point walking away from that fact that is where the main savings in any organisation [in a similar situation] would be made.

The council said they are also looking at making savings through contracted work a minimising energy costs and running costs for buildings.

Mr Foulkes said: “We will look at every possible way of making savings and deliver a reasonable council tax without ripping the heart and soul out of the council.

“We have a fairly hard three years coming,” he added, “but I’m hoping at the end we come out with a slimmer, leaner organisation capable of delivering good services.”