Northumberland County Council has offered all of its staff the chance to apply for voluntary redundancy after a multi-million pound overspend was predicted.
In an email from interim chief executive Rick O’Farrell to all staff, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it was revealed that the authority has a “projected in-year overspend” of £17.135 million, blamed on rising inflation and increased fuel bills. It is understood that £5.2m has already been set aside to cover some expected inflation so the council is now set to overspend its budget by £12m.
In the email, Mr O’Farrell states that “these are difficult times for all of us” and that those factors are “having a major impact on the council’s budget.”
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He added: “We can’t simply draw down from reserves so we need all of you to work with us to feed in ideas for how we can save money. The council has agreed to re-introduce the voluntary redundancy scheme for a limited period to help with future organisational planning.
“This opportunity is open to all who wish to make an application, and the purpose of this briefing is to advise all employees of the timescales and application process.”
Earlier this year, council leader Glen Sanderson said he was looking to shave £1 million from the council’s wage bill after figures revealed that the council pays 20 high-up employees more than £100,000 a year – the highest of any council in the North East.
At the time, Coun Sanderson explained that he hoped the money would be saved by implementing a new management structure and ending the authority’s reliance on interim executives.
He added: “I will not ask anybody to leave involuntarily. If there has to be redundancies, I will want them to be voluntary. The last thing I want to do is upset or hurt the staff who have been so supportive. That is really important to me.”
Northumberland Conservatives, the council’s largest party, blamed the issues behind the cost of living crisis for the council’s financial difficulties.
A spokesman for the party said: “ Northumberland County Council is affected by the same issues that are facing most people, authorities and businesses – including the cost of fuel and general high inflation rates.
“These will be much higher than anyone thought just a few months ago. We have a fantastic team working hard whose focus is to provide excellent service to our residents, businesses and our many visitors.
“There are many challenges due to the pandemic and other events outside our control such as a terrible, long-running war in Europe. We are looking at various ways in which to deal with any financial pressures the council comes under and how we can mitigate against them.
“These are reviewed on a very regular basis. It is only right that we make our staff and the wider community aware of the work we are doing to drive the county forward, and any hurdles put in our way due to the financial concerns at such a difficult time for all.”
A spokesperson for Northumberland County Council said: "Along with councils throughout the country we are dealing with some significant financial issues brought about by a range of external factors.
The cost of many of the things the council needs to deliver its services – from building materials to energy - has increased significantly and we need to respond to those pressures.
As a responsible council we have a legal duty to set a balanced budget and ensure sound financial management. That is why we carry out rigorous budget monitoring throughout the year and are taking action now to mitigate against further overspend.
We are carefully looking at budgets in every service to see where savings could be made, while continuing to minimise the impact on residents. It's also about the council working differently to try and develop year on year savings.
Voluntary redundancy rounds are reasonably common and have been held annually in a number of recent years. We are currently going through this process."
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