Sajid Javid, the new communities secretary, has been urged to reverse major cuts to town hall budgets after Leeds city council warned that 2,000 jobs could be axed in an attempt to balance the books.
Judith Blake, the council leader, said up to 15% of its workforce face redundancy in the next four years as the city strives to save £400m.
In a strong statement before a crucial cabinet meeting next week, Blake urged Theresa May and Javid to “consider a change of direction in relation to deficit reduction and potential future funding for local government”.
Councils across England have been forced to make severe cuts since 2010, when grant funding for local authorities was cut by a fifth – more than twice the level of cuts to the rest of the UK public sector.
In Leeds, government funding will have been cut by £214m between 2010 and the end of the current financial year. Increased demand on services means the council will have had to deliver a total saving of about £400m by March 2017, Blake said.
In a warning that more services will be cut, Leeds council bosses suggested residents could pick up litter to help reduce the demand on street cleaning. Residents were also advised to check on elderly neighbours to free up social workers.
Blake said: “We look forward with interest to what direction the new government takes in the autumn statement in relation to deficit reduction and its impact on funding for vital public services.
“However, the current grant settlement as it stands means it will be incredibly difficult to continue to protect those services. That said, as a council we will do all we can to minimise the effect of the cuts on vulnerable people as well as on our own workforce.”
The council said it would review all services to see where savings could be made and that up to 2,000 jobs would need to be shed in the next four years.
Blake added: “Our aim is for Leeds to remain a caring and compassionate city built on a strong economy focused on tackling inequality and promoting opportunity for all.
“This remains a massive challenge given our projected financial position up to 2020, which is why were are in the process of reviewing our services and senior management arrangements, looking for ways to make income or reduce costs.”
A breakdown by the FT of council spending over the past five years revealed that local government services are creaking under the weight of growing demand as local authority budgets have been cut by £18bn in real terms since 2010 – with at least another £9.5bn expected by the end of the decade.
