Vow to protect Northumberland services from council cutbacks

But yesterday senior County Hall officials insisted that the vast majority of the savings will be achieved by reducing corporate and management costs and ending duplication, rather than harming front-line services.

They said the fire and rescue service will not have to make any savings, there are no plans to close libraries or leisure centres, no services will be withdrawn and refuse collection will be as normal.

In addition, funding to voluntary and community organisations will be maintained at current levels.

Officers admit that some parts of the county - which have enjoyed "Rolls-Royce" standards of services such as grass cutting, street cleaning and grounds maintenance - will see reductions because of the need for equality across Northumberland.

The Liberal Democrat administration which will run the new unitary council yesterday approved a budget plan for public consultation, with final decisions being taken in February.

It envisages efficiency savings of £25.5m, a council tax rise of 4.8% and job losses of between 700 and 800.

Savings are proposed of £8.5m in the central and performance directorate - the corporate department which covers finance, IT and human resources - and £7.4m in the places directorate, which includes highways, street cleaning, waste collection, housing, leisure and libraries.

A further £5m will be cut from the adult services budget and £2.8m from the people directorate, leaving a further £1.7m still required.

Yesterday county council chief executive Steve Stewart said the new authority was facing a uniquely difficult set of circumstances - trying to make major, Government-required savings at the same time as merging seven councils into one.

"A lot of the savings will be made in middle and senior management and the vast majority of cuts are staffing-based. We are doing everything we can to ensure that people won't see service reductions across the county. We are not withdrawing any services, as far as we know."

Last night Conservative group leader Peter Jackson said figures showed there will be 334 people taken out of front-line service delivery next year. "If that doesn't mean a cut in services to the public, then I don't know what does.

"The whole single unitary council idea has been built on the premise of it being more responsive and local, and providing better services. What they are intending to give us next year is a council which is anything but that.

"The administration should have taken a blank piece of paper and said what services do the people want and how are we going to provide them. They would have come up with completely different proposals."

TAX WILL BE EQUALISED OVER FIVE YEARS

Plans to ensure that everyone across Northumberland pays the same level of council tax look set to be phased in over five years, rather than implemented in just one.

The successful bid to the Government to establish the new unitary authority pledged that council tax will be 'equalised' so that people in all six districts pay the same as the current lowest, which is Blyth Valley.

The bid said this would be achieved in 2009/10 - but yesterday senior County Hall officials said the current financial problems meant it would be better to do it over five years, as national guidance allows.

Finance director Steven Mason said equalising council tax to the lowest level next year would require an extra £1.5m of budget savings to be made, on top of the existing target of £25.5m.