Council directors to be cut from five to four in money-saving bid

THE number of top directors running Staffordshire County Council will be reduced – to save £133,235-a-year.

The positions of the director of strategy, governance and change and the director of finance and resources are to be deleted as part of the management cuts.

They will be replaced by a new role – a £147,802-a-year director of corporate services – as the number of directors is slashed from five to four. Now John Tradewell, director of strategy, governance and change, is set to be appointed to the position at a private meeting next month.

It comes as the council is tackling a £35 million shortfall in the 2019/20 financial year.

County council leader Philip Atkins said: “Having reduced our running costs by £240m in the last nine years, we face extremely difficult decisions to meet our legal duty to balance the books next year.

“To protect front-line and universal services, we are making significant savings in the back office, and subject to approval by full council in December, that will start with our senior leadership team.

“Work is under way on a range of cost-saving proposals, and together with councils across the country, we continue to lobby the Government on the urgent need for more funding for social care.

“We will know the outcome of this when the Government announces its council funding settlements for England on December 6.”

The council is also looking to save cash by no longer funding hundreds of lollipop men and women, cutting back on urban grass cutting, and axing the councillors’ community grants scheme.