Up to 140,000 local authority jobs to go, warns Local Government Association

The number of local authority job losses could – at around 140,000 – be 40% higher than originally predicted after the Comprehensive Spending Review, the Local Government Association has warned.

The LGA had forecast that 100,000 posts would go following George Osborne's publication of the CSR. However, it has revised its figures because of the government's decision to “front load” a large proportion of the cuts into the first year.

The association claimed that the “unexpected severity” of the first year cuts would force councils to slash their budgets by an average of 11% in 2011/12. The loss of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, which channelled £450m, will also have a significant impact on some local authorities.

The LGA acknowledged that the government had set up a £200m capitalisation fund to help councils with the cost of cutting jobs, but urged it to go further in next month’s local government finance settlement. It wants councils to be able to spread the cuts more evenly over the next four years.

Greater clarification of the level of new central government grants – which will replace existing specific grants – is also needed, the LGA said.

LGA chairman Baroness Margaret Eaton said: “Local councils knew the cuts were coming and had planned prudently to reduce spending over the coming years. We cut more than £1bn from our budgets in the middle of this year, rolled up our sleeves and got on with the job. But the unexpected severity of the cuts that will have to be made next year will put many councils in an unprecedented and difficult position.

“No council cuts jobs lightly, but many are being left with no choice. Some jobs will go in natural wastage, not filling vacancies and voluntary redundancy, however, we cannot escape the fact that some losses will be dedicated professional posts that, given a choice, councils would not want to see go. These are the tough choices we are going to have to make.”