Further Lib Dem statement on possible job losses in County Council (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

Further Lib Dem statement on possible job losses in County Council

July 16, 2009 1:15 PM

The announcement from the Conservatives about the possible 10% reduction in staff numbers has caused great alarm amongst county council staff. We find it unacceptable that the first announcement of this drastic cut came during an interview on BBC News South. Surely it would have been much better, and more likely to lead to a constructive discussion of options for savings if there had been an informal consultation with staff first, before rushing to the media.

Before the election, Cllr. Mitchell had been assuring the electorate that there were no job losses on the way. This had been in response to job cuts being made at neighbouring Buckinghamshire County Council. It is also nonsense to say that the ongoing global recession was not predicted. We have all known about this for months and indeed, Vince Cable, our Shadow Treasury Spokesman in the Commons has been predicting this for years! We should have been planning well ahead and it is strange that Cllr. Mitchell is saying that he is not suddenly reacting to the situation, when he clearly is! What HAS changed is the expectation of low government grant in the next Comprehensive Spending Review, and Cllr Mitchell's avowed aim to reduce the rise in council tax well below what he built into his budget plans in February, apparently regardless of the pain this might inflict on those dependent on our services.

There have been calls for the reduction in the numbers of consultants and agency staff. We have asked for information on this, but the council has so far not been able to give us accurate figures. We are aware that the County Council has to employ consultants and use agency staff where absolutely necessary, but we would not like to see money used here which could be put into delivering frontline services. We want to be sure that any new posts are essential and that consultants are not employed when our own staff could be trained to do the work.

We agree that the future government settlement is bound to be tight,. We also agree that we need to use taxpayers' money wisely - indeed, that is in our own manifesto. We understand the need for value for money. However, we know that this Conservative administration has wasted money on unnecessary posts, and on printing and marketing of glossy publications and leaflets. We drew this to everyone's attention prior to the elections, so we are pleased if there will now be a long hard look at unnecessary spending. But we also know that the majority of our staff are providing essential services to the public - whether supporting children, families and older people or repairing the roads - and we wish to ensure that vulnerable residents in Oxfordshire do not suffer as a result of these cuts.

Given the concern amongst staff and the need to work together to reduce costs, the Liberal Democrats have called for an emergency meeting of the Employees' Joint Consultative Committee which comprises staff, union representatives, councillors and management. This has just been fixed for August 20th, not as soon as we would have liked, but well before the next scheduled meeting. We recognise that times are very difficult, however we do need to all work together in trying to make the best of a very challenging situation.