A BUDGET plan which proposes a near 10 per cent reduction in council staff and all workers being forced to take unpaid time off will now go to consultation.

Under Bolton Council’s proposed budget for next year, 262 full-time positions are set to be axed to save £39M, while the assumption in the paper is that council tax payers will see their bills raised by just under four per cent, the maximum allowed.

The council’s Conservative leaders said they have been faced by a ‘perfect storm’ with the effects of the Covid pandemic lowering the authority’s income at a time when they were already having to make difficult financial decisions.

In a cabinet meeting which agreed to send the plans for consultation, opposition leaders debated the draught budget paper.

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Roger Hayes said that one of the proposals, three days unpaid leave for all council staff, was a ‘red line’ and amounted to a ‘forced pay cut’ for all staff, who were also facing a pay freeze.

Under the proposals up to 1,881 of the council’s 2,934 workers are under review.

It is estimated 262 roles will be lost. Around 128 posts would be scrapped and 134 vacancies will remain unfilled.

Labour say they will propose a plea to the government to allow councils to set deficit budgets over a period of time, while the economy readjusts after the pandemic.

During the cabinet meeting, council leader Cllr David Greenhalgh, said: “This has been an incredibly difficult process to find these savings in one year.

“Some options which we would never even want to consider under normal circumstances have been on the table and up for discussion.

“Even before the pandemic we were already facing a very difficult set of financial decisions with a number of savings deferred.

“Since March we have seen reduced income and more demand for our services as a result of the pandemic.

“While we have had a lot of support from the government with grants to help businesses and residents it has just not been enough to offset council pressures and losses.”

Cllr Greenhalgh said that the plans were not final and appealed to all other parties which make up the council to come up with “viable and costed alternatives” and said it would be a “true consutation”.

He said: “We would dearly love to work with all political parties not just before the meeting in February which sets the budget but before then with mutual conversations that can lead to some positive outcomes.”

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Roger Hayes attacked the proposal to force all council workers to take an additional three days unpaid leave which is set to save the council £1.2m.

He, said: “We’ve all got our red lines. I want to make it very clear that if the option to make a forced cut in pay to staff is still there at the end we would most certainly vote against this budget.

“Obviously this would be very different if trade unions were to agree a cut in pay in return for fewer redundancies.

“It may be there are other things in the budget which allow us to drop that option.

“We think it’s morally wrong to force a cut in pay.”

Replying to that point Cllr Greenhalgh, said: “That was an incredibly difficult proposal for us. This was taken off further savings in the children’s portfolio.

“It is the equivalent of 46 full time posts by making that saving but I agree with you. Staff have now received the news that many of them will get a pay freeze.

“It is not the best time to be making such proposals.”

Bolton Labour group has tabled a motion for the council meeting today (Wednesday, December 2), which will call upon the government to allow councils to set deficit budgets over a period of time, while the economy readjusts post covid.

Labour group leader Cllr Nick Peel, said “What we are asking for is no different from what the government itself routinely does with its own finances, which is to not  set a balanced budget, as we have seen again with spending review.”

“A large part of this £39m is nothing to do with the council deliberately spending beyond its means but has everything to do with new, but one-off, costs related to the Covid pandemic as well as a temporary loss of income.

“While the government have provided some extra money, and have allowed us to spread out a small part of the additional costs, it does not go anywhere near what is needed.”