CONCERNS over cash flow have forced Cherwell District Council to write to staff asking them to take voluntary redundancy, unpaid leave or reduce their hours.

All 534 staff have received a letter ahead of widely-predicted cuts in Government funding next year.

Last night, the council, which covers Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington, said it could not rule out compulsory redundancies but hoped to avoid it with staff coming forward to take voluntary leave.

Chief executive Mary Harpley said the move was necessary to prepare for the expected cut in funding from next April.

The council currently gets a grant of £8.2m to fund services and has a budget of £20m, with the rest of its income made up from council tax, fees and charges, such as parking and planning, and investments.

Over the past year it has seen a drop in planning fee revenue and is also expecting less cash in future from its investments due to low interest rates.

But the council, which is already making £2.6m of cuts in other areas, cannot be sure if its annual grant will definitely be cut, or by how much.

Mrs Harpley said the council had been in talks with unions over potential job cuts.

She said: “Like all local authorities, we are facing some tough financial decisions in the future.

“In the past three years we have made significant structural changes in order to save taxpayer money.

“The current economic climate means public finances are likely to be squeezed even further than previously expected.

“We were already looking to save more than £2.6m by 2012 and diminishing Government funding is likely to increase this target.

“We hope that, by giving them an opportunity to let us know their plans in the coming years, we can protect staff and services from the effects of this and still avoid large tax hikes.”

Staff at Cherwell have been asked to declare their intention by September 25 and will get a chance to ask questions at a planning briefing that month.

A statement from trade union Unison, which represents the lion’s share of council staff across Oxfordshire, said: “The union recognises that at this time public spending will be coming under increased scrutiny to achieve savings and those savings will inevitably focus on the expenditure surrounding staff costs.”

Earlier this year the council announced it was outsourcing its revenue and benefits service, which is currently out to tender.

Staff working in those departments will be either transferred to other departments within the council, or move with the firm that wins the contract.

A council spokesman said there were no further plans to close departments or outsource services.

  • West Oxfordshire District Council plans to make £1.2m of savings over the next four years, including initiatives such as sharing services and its chief executive with a neighbouring Cotswold District Council, in Gloucestershire. It gets a Government grant, including business rates, of just over £6m.
  • South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse district councils are both aiming to make annual savings of £1m each.

Both have just started a review of jobs and functions of departments.

They already share services such as waste collection, financial services and a management team, to reduce costs. Future proposals could include job losses.

  • Oxford City Council said it was not considering job cuts or asking staff to make changes to their employment at the moment.