COUNTY council chiefs say they are on track to make savings of £30m over the next two years as Government spending cuts bite.

Among the cost-cutting measures is a recruitment freeze with about 900 jobs expected to be lost by natural wastage over the next 12 months, more central buying to get better deals and cutting down on waste. Switching to a new centrally-managed print service for all council departments could cut costs by £5.7m in just five years, say managers.

The council plans to award Canon a contract to maintain all printers, copiers and fax machines.

Managers say the savings will come from reducing the number of devices to 600 and spending less on paper, power and support.