News from Sheffield Labour

Sheffield Labour announce plans for £1m saving on senior managers

Sheffield’s Labour administration has announced that the Council will be reducing spending on senior managers by £1,000,000 over the next financial year.

The saving is in addition to a reduction between January 2011 and January 2012 of 11 managers earning above £50,000, which will already save the Council over £500,000 a year.

Labour’s announcement signals their determination to go further by 2013, in demanding a further £1 million savings in senior management posts. Reduced spend on senior managers will ensure that the Council is able to protect front line services as much as possible, given the scale of Government cuts expected in the coming years.

Sheffield City Council has £170 million to save in the next four years, £55 million of which is to be cut from the 2012/13 budget, which is due to be set at the Council’s budget meeting on Friday 9 March.

Labour Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Bryan Lodge, said: “We have already cut spending on senior managers by over £500,000 in the last year, but we are determined to go further to make sure that we protect front line services as much as possible. This is why we will be delivering a further saving of £1 million on management by 2013.

“Last year £80 million was cut from the Council’s budget and we have had to meet a £55 million budget gap this year as well. Because of the Government’s austerity programme and mismanagement of the economy we know that Sheffield City Council faces more cuts for years to come.

“By streamlining the Council’s management to make it as efficient as possible, alongside freezing staff pay for the past two years, we have been able to protect more front line Council services, particularly those supporting the most vulnerable, which is what we know local people want to see.”

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