More than 200 jobs – the equivalent of 201 full-time posts – will be lost at Kirklees Council next year.

Budget proposals unveiled this week reveal job losses and £21m service cuts for 2014/15.

Cuts include £1.4m less for routine road repairs, zero funding for Area Committee activity funding for community groups, and the proposed closure of public attended toilets in Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Dewsbury.

And in a shock move, some 9,000 people may have to pay a suggested administration charge of £30 for a permit to park outside their own homes.

Kirklees staff numbers will reduce by 201 from 7,086 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) to 6,885 FTEs – this excludes school staff.

The proposals will be debated by Cabinet on Tuesday and go out to public consultation.

The Examiner has looked at each council directorate and picked out the major changes:

Find out what the party leaders think of the cuts here

PLACE (directorate)

Streetscene, waste, environment and housing – total directorate loss £4m in a budget of £37m.

Overall job losses: 33.6 FTE – ten each in highways, environmental and business support. Remaining staff 2,929 FTE.

Biggest losses: £1.4m less on Highways including £45k less on road safety; waste services (£1m ); environmental (£253k); school transport (£228k); business support (£216); transport services (£196k); parking (£160k); seasonal weather (£100k) and planning (£85k).

Increased spend: £431,000 on Corporate Landlord responsibilities.

Overview:

1) Ten school crossing patrols to be “dis-established” – council have picked “low risk” locations for the axe. The Examiner has asked for locations but has not yet been told.

Wednesday update: Kirklees Council has said today that the locations are currently unstaffed and hard to recruit.

2) £1.427m reduction in routine road repairs leaving to loss of eight jobs. The council admits: “This reduction will have an adverse effect on the condition of our highway network”.

3) £1.076m less in street cleansing, which includes possible closure of attended public toilets in Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Holmfirth. The council hopes the private sector may run them.

4) Cease funding of Kirklees Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations (KFTRA) and cease funding of communal upkeep of retirement living schemes. Instead the £113k bill will be funded by the Housing Revenue Account in 2014/15.

5) £30 charge for resident parking permits to cover admin costs, affecting 9,000 people living on 320 permit-only streets.

Wednesday update:Clr Mehboob Khan, council leader, has said pensioners and low-income people eligible for a Kirklees Passport will not have to pay for a permit.

RESOURCES (directorate)

Libraries, customer services: total directorate loss of £1.007m in a budget of £36.657m.

Overall job losses: 7.3 FTE in accountancy only. 1,070 FTE remaining.

Biggest losses: corporate priorities budget (£534k), accountancy (£272k), IT (£88k), governance core (£44k), income collection (£26k), library and information centres (£20k), and Civic Office (£10k).

Increased spend: £282k more on elections and electoral registration.

Overview:

1) Libraries: savings through mobile and service re-organisation.

2) Mayor and deputy mayor to perform fewer civic duties.

COMMUNITIES (directorate)

Sport, museums and galleries, community engagement: total directorate loss of £1.5m in a budget of £16,530m.

Overall job losses: 20 FTE losses with 414 FTE remaining.

Biggest losses: Local area committee activity budget (£291k); grant to Kirklees Active Leisure (£266k), Human Resources (£150k).

No increased spend in directorate.

Overview:

1) Museums and galleries:£20k loss. 9.5 fewer jobs already agreed. Reductions come through staff and running costs. Income generation targets to be set.

2) Kirklees Active Leisure: “Modest” price increases will be introduced for pay and play.

3) Communication and marketing: £57k saved by not filling vacant posts and £43k saved from reducing publication of Kirklees Together magazine.

4) Area Committees: £291k budget removed for community funding activities, staff budget reduced by £24k and £115k reduction in Neighbourhood Activity Work to £345k. A review into Area Committees to take place.

5) No employee healthcare budget for 2014/15.

Wednesday clarification:Kirklees says the Funding for Employee Healthcare is not cut.  There is just a net zero budget and it  remains funded by other sources.

 

PUBLIC HEALTH (directorate)

Total directorate loss (£1.343m) the same as increased spend.

Overall job losses: 1.1 FTE in public health advice to the NHS and health intelligence (both existing vacancies). 54.5 FTE remaining.

Biggest losses: Public health grant (£924k) miscellaneous (£231k); obesity services (£100k), plus £46k and £42k in same areas of job losses (see above).

Increased spend: All of losses offset by £1.343m transferred to ‘miscellaneous’ budget.

Overview:

1) Obesity: scale back adult weight management service by 20% by reducing number of referrals.

2) Closure of the Public Health Resource Centre.

3) Oral health campaign in schools: Free fluoridated milk to be provided to schools in pilot.

CHILDREN’S SERVICES (directorate)

Education, school planning, social services: total directorate loss of £4.2m loss in a budget of £75,848m.

Overall job losses: 18.5 FTE with 6,354 FTE remaining.

Biggest losses: £1.3m in external foster placements, £1m less in external residential placements, £103k loss of assistant director salary (already left); £140k less for Young People’s Service.

Increased spend: £732k in guardianship and residency orders and £186k in adoption allowances. Increased spend to compensate for reduction in placements.

Overview:

1) The Connexions Service, a careers service for young people, is not cut and the budget of £2,517m remains.

Wednesday update: The Special Education Needs (SEN) support for further Education is not cut – this is a net zero budget. However, the provision will continue from other funding sources.

ADULT SERVICES (directorate)

Care services and residential units: total directorate loss of £4,352m in budget of £94,421m.

Overall job losses: 120.6 FTE with 1,092 FTE remaining.

Biggest losses: £1.072m in residential and nursing services; £1.5m in ‘demand-led’ services including supported living, care phones and emergency support.

Increased spend: £550k in prevention support.