Hampshire County Council jobs will go and frontline services are under threat in 'colossal '£100m cut

The future of many frontline services, include those safeguarding some of society's most vulnerable children and adults, will also be under threat in the “colossal” round of cuts.

Money to repair Hampshire's roads, rubbish collections and even the county's trading standards service could also be severely streamlined as those holding the purse strings at Hampshire County Council attempt to balance the books.

The fresh round of cuts will happen in 2017 - but they are predicted to be so hard hitting that bosses are putting plans in motion already.

Today the gloomy outlook for the county council workforce, which stands at around 12,000 excluding teachers, will be laid bare at a cabinet meeting.

Members are expected to give the go ahead for early planning of the 2017 budget, further details of which will be ratified in July.

The process is two years earlier than normal to ensure no emergencies develop among cut hit services, council leaders say.

It comes as the county council's own chief executive Andrew Smith predicts the dire financial situation will not improve for “many, many years to come” and says there is no longer any “easy” way to make savings.

Council leader Roy Perry said the enormous sum meant that “everything” would be looked at - and he would be calling on the Government to stop making councils shoulder the severe cuts when other bodies like the NHS could take more.

Meanwhile union leaders have warned the implications could be “drastic” and quality of care for vulnerable people could fall to “dangerous” levels.

County leader Cllr Roy Perry told the Daily Echo that nearly 1,000 posts could go and all services were under review although nothing was certain yet.

He said: “It's not getting easier, it's getting harder and I am realistic about that.

“When you take £100million out of our budget we have to look at everything - I'm not going to pretend that services will not be looked at.

“Undoubtedly we will do our level best to protect services and the council. But we may be providing them in a different way in the future.”

He added: “I hope people will understand the reality of the economic pressures and bear with us as we try to find ways of providing essential services as cost effectively as we can.”

Cllr Perry went on to say that while he accepted Westminster has to cut national spending to bring Britain's debts down, it was not fair that councils should feel the brunt of it.

He said he would be protesting to the Government that councils had shouldered enough - and that other areas such as the NHS could save more by slashing bureaucracy.

Since the cutbacks began in 2008 the council has axed 2400 jobs as well as £240 million from its budget.

And the axe is still falling, with letters are going out to staff in the coming weeks offering voluntary redundancy as part of ongoing reductions.

So far frontline services such as for vulnerable adults and children - where demand is rocketing - have escaped major cuts.

Back office staff and management have borne the brunt and more cash saved by merging departments with Hampshire's police and fire services.

But county council chief executive Andrew Smith has warned in a report that after four years of cutting there were no “easy” ways of making savings anymore.

He said: “The next round of compound savings will inevitably consist of significant service reductions with no escaping the frontline impact of the funding reductions.”

In a damning assessment of the dire state of Government council funding, Mr Smith told a cross party committee last week there was no light at the end of the tunnel - despite a brighter economic outlook.

He said: “Will the public finances change? Or indeed will it ever go back up again? Personally I don't think it will ever go back up for many, many years to come.

“Arguably events around the world mean if there was a change in public expenditure things like the armed services may require expenditure before things like local government.”

By 2018 the county council is set to have reduced spending by nearly £340m.

Mr Smith said: “It's a huge and colossal sum to take out of any organisation and certainly an organisation that has demand growing, demand for children's services school places and social care.”

Tim Cutter, branch secretary for Hampshire Unison, said: “It is so drastic. The council have cut too far already. As a union we want to protect jobs but also services.

“Now it will be getting to the dangerous levels for the quality of care for vulnerable people and the quality of service to disadvantaged people.”