Posts will disappear before 2015, mayor confirms

HUNDREDS more jobs are set to go at Newham Council over the next few years, bosses have admitted.

More than 800 posts have already gone, with a further 200 set to vanish over the next year.

And up to 600 more are likely to disappear before March 2015 as the council looks to cut �75m from its budget.

The figures were originally published in a council response to last year’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

And speaking this week, Mayor Sir Robin Wales confirmed the posts are still likely to go, despite finding more than �40m of savings this year.

But he said efforts will be made to find alternative jobs within the authority for affected staff.

They will also be given priority access to the council’s Workplace employment and training initiative.

Fifteen PCSOs will also see their contracts axed this year.

Bosses want to replace them with regular police officers, but admit they are at the mercy of the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Robin said: “We’re still trying to do redeployment and Newham residents who work for us will get access to Workplace. We will do the best we can but a big chunk of our money is on jobs.”

Speaking about the PCSOs set to go, he added: “The situation will depend on what the Met give us.

“We don’t think PCSOs work and if we get the police officers we will deploy them on the things that matter to people.”

The mayor also used an interview with the Recorder to pledge that buildings left empty by the council’s move to new headquarters will be sold when the market is right.

The authority came in for criticism when it was revealed �111 million had been spent on relocating staff from 26 locations to Building 1000 in Docklands. A leaked memo showed 18 of the 26 sites were either still in use or lying empty.

But Sir Robin Wales said: “You don’t sell your stuff when you won’t get a good price for it. We can wait and that will help us.” He added that the move has already saved about �12m.