Leicestershire County Council could cut up to 250 jobs to save money

A council could cut 250 jobs as it attempts to balance its books over the coming years.

Leicestershire County Council said its budget gap was set to rise to more than £90m by 2026 due to rising inflation and increasing demand.

The authority said a 5% council tax rise, service cuts and "efficiency savings" would need to be introduced.

The plans will be discussed at a meeting on Friday before a consultation period from 19 December to 15 January.

Despite the planned budget cuts - which would save £38.2m - there will be a budget shortfall of £16.6m in 2024-25, rising to £91.8m in 2026-27.

The council estimates the savings required will lead to about 250 jobs being lost over a four-year period.

There are also plans for £59m of efficiency savings - including reducing back office costs - and service cuts totalling £4m.

The council said the budget would include £57m more to support vulnerable people - to pay for more home and residential care, and support people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health needs.

The proposals also include a £508m four-year capital pot - for the cost of building roads, schools and other projects - which is also subject to "significant inflation pressures".

Cabinet member for finance, Lee Breckon, said: "These are tough times. Even with the proposed council tax increase, our funding is going up by less than inflation, making savings and ultimately service cuts inevitable.

"This is an unsatisfactory situation. And unless new money is made available, we can't fund all the big capital schemes required for a growing county without impacting on core services.

"It's never been more important for people to have their say on our proposals."

By Tony Roe, BBC East Midlands political editor

It's grim news to hear at any time. In one day, three of the East Midlands' biggest councils have announced a total of over 500 job losses.

Even if some of the job cuts will be vacancies they don't fill, many families will be now be heading into the Christmas period with uncertainty about keeping their job in the future.

Derby City Council leader Chris Poulter called it a tough decision to have to take. All councils have had diminishing income from central government over the past decade. Now they have inflation to deal with as well.

A measure of the difficulty that it is causing is in one statistic from Leicestershire County Council - a planned 5% increase in council tax will raise £17.7m next year, but it will all be used up by the rise in the living wage.

So people will lose their jobs and councils will have to save money by cutting what they do and charge more for what they provide. Symbolically in Leicestershire, you can expect street lights to be dimmed and in some places to be turned off.

That will save them half a million a year by 2024 as the economic gloom continues.

Deborah Taylor, deputy council leader, added: "Difficult decisions lie ahead. Our priority is ensuring vulnerable people continue to receive services they depend on, despite soaring year-on-year demand.

"No-one wants to ask residents to pay more, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. These are unpalatable choices for us but with inflation driving up our costs, a council tax rise vastly reduces the impact on vital front-line services."

The council's cabinet will review the plans on Friday before the consultation period.

It will then agree final proposals before they are voted on at a meeting on 22 February.

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