Essex revises plans to overhaul youth service

Fresh proposals put forward after a formal public consultation reveal that some staff will be offered voluntary redundancy as part of plans to reduce spending on youth services over the next three years.

The new proposals also contain plans to outsource the delivery of services to voluntary groups in a bid to protect provision.

The local authority came under fire from Unite, which represents the majority of Essex’s youth workers, in October when it first unveiled plans to slash spending on the service.

The union claimed the council was considering proposals that could see all 178 of the county’s youth workers lose their jobs and services all outsourced and delivered by external providers instead.

A council spokeswoman confirmed the new plans and said staff would be formally consulted.

She said: “Essex County Council cannot confirm at this point exactly how many redundancies there will be, however we anticipate over coming years a phased reduction of up to 26 full-time equivalents.

“Apart from proposed reductions in the senior management team it is not anticipated there will be any major changes before April 2015 – we will continue to consult as things become clearer.

“However, any reductions will depend on the outcome of an employee consultation process and a number of external factors, which includes the ability of the service to generate income and the number of employees who may, over this time, leave the organisation naturally to pursue other opportunities or retirement.”

The move, which comes almost two years after the budget had already been slashed from £12m, is part of the council’s plans to save a total of £215m by 2016/17.

The amended proposals will go before the council’s cabinet on Tuesday 25th February.