In order to clear a total deficit of £12 million over the financial cycle, Tayside Police is proposing early retirement and voluntary redundancy to more than 600 staff in the hope some will accept.
The Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition is pledging to invest £15.8 billion to improve school buildings, including the expansion of primary schools, which are facing the most pressure for places. It follows a decision to veto the last Government’s “wasteful” £45bn plan to rebuild every secondary school in England.
Discussions are taking place between two Lothian councils over plans to merge their departments in a move that would be a first for the north of the border. The merger plans are part of wider talks between East Lothian and Midlothian councils, along with West Lothian, Scottish Borders and Fife councils. A senior Scottish Government official has also been seconded to help develop the plans.
Strike action at the beginning of the week by Tube workers was described as "cynical". Mike Brown, London Underground managing director, added: "Services are operating on virtually all lines despite the pointless strike.” On its website Transport for London said there was a restricted service on some lines.
A quarter of the 24,000 non-schools workforce employed by a council are at risk of losing their jobs, says a prominent trade union. GMB, a general trade union in the United Kingdom, said Lancashire County Council had invited staff to volunteer for redundancy and early retirement.
More than 100 jobs are under threat due to a local authority’s plans to save £33m over ten years. Herefordshire council said it was responding to the challenge of the government’s spending review. Herefordshire Council, the PCT (primary care trust) and county hospital would all be jointly entrusted with the provision of some care services.
Well-known company De La Rue has seen about one-third of its half-yearly profits cancelled out by employees not following best practice on paperwork.
A local authority which needs to save £10m a year for four years has announced that 100 workers will lose their jobs. Oxford City Council said that other cost-cutting measures could include increased parking fees or charging for park and ride schemes.
Another public service has announced it is cutting jobs due to budgetary concerns. Although the final settlement will not be known until December, Northumbria Police expects to lose £34m from the government this spending period, so hundreds of civilian jobs will go.
Health bosses’ hands in the north-east appear to have been forced by the coalition’s insistence that savings are made across the NHS. Jobs are to be cut at hospitals in Northumberland and Tyneside as bosses have had to act on the basis of a five-year report which sets out how health care will adapt in order to reduce admissions.