Barnstaple Town Centre :: Local and Community News

A Devon council is to shed 40 to 50 jobs because of a £1.2m shortfall.

Mid Devon District Council said it had already made savings of £750,000 and blamed the cuts on lack of financial support from the government.

It also claimed parking charges had not raised as much as anticipated and paying for the concessionary bus fare scheme had cost more than expected. The government defended its financial support and said grants for local services had risen by 39% since 1997.

Council officials are undertaking a prioritisation exercise to establish in which areas the jobs will go.

Council chief executive Paul Edwards, said: "I don't think the government understands the issues that councils face in rural areas such as ours.

"It sometimes places unnecessary burdens on us and does not recompense us with satisfactory grant allocations." He added: "If we put 1% on council tax it only raises £40,000 for us and we are talking about having to find £1.2m out of an £11.7m annual budget."

The Department for Communities and Local Government defended its position saying: "The Government has increased grants for local services by 39% since 1997.

"This represents a continued real term increase in investment in local government which should allow authorities to deliver effective services at an affordable cost."

Unions say most of the council's financial woes are of its own doing and they are not ruling out industrial action.