Tale of two councils as leaders face cuts of different degrees

THE contrast couldn't be greater.

In Hull, the city council is facing the prospect of having to make £50 million of budget savings over the next 12 months.

big Challenges: Hull City Council leader Carl Minns, left, and leader of East Riding Council Stephen Parnaby. Picture: Jerome Ellerby

As a result, up to 1,400 fewer people could be working for the authority by this time next year.

Meanwhile just ten miles up the road in Beverley, officials at East Riding Council's County Hall headquarters are looking at very different scenario.

They have announced up to 145 posts will have to go over the next two years as they grapple with the much more manageable task of saving around £14 million over the same period.

Cushioned by a sound recent track record in achieving efficiency savings, East Riding Council leader Stephen Parnaby maintained it would still be a challenging period.

He said: "The bottom line is that we are not getting any extra funding from the Government. We are still looking at a reduction of 9.2 per cent in our annual grant."

Mr Parnaby said continuing service reviews and changes to the way the council operates had helped East Riding Council avoid the global voluntary redundancy invitations being issued by other local authorities.

"We are confident this will not be necessary," he added.

"This will help retain key staff and skills to manage change and service risks.

"About 34 per cent of the working population in the East Riding is employed in the public sector, so keeping job losses to a minimum will lessen the potentially significant impact of public expenditure reductions on the local economy."

Meanwhile, in Hull, city council leader Carl Minns believes reducing the number of contracts issued by his authority will provide a challenge for local suppliers.

The move towards larger, but fewer overall contracts is part of the cost-saving drive in at the Guildhall.

Procurement is being seen as a key area where large savings can be made.

Mr Minns said: "It is a risk, but the council has to make a judgment call on where savings can be made.

"The principle of encouraging local suppliers remains.

"Forty-four per cent of our spend is local."