Staff are at risk of redundancy amid a major council shake-up. Dozens of managerial staff at Brighton and Hove City Council have been put on notice of redundancy as the authority begins consultation on a restructure. It is hoped the move will save the council £900,000 and will create an organisation that is “fit for the future”.
The council currently faces a potential budget shortfall of £105 million over four years , with a possible £36 million deficit for the next financial year. Concerns have been raised though about the allocation of new roles and the timing of the restructure when the authority faces problems including “serious failings” in housing. There are also fears the reorganisation will “stifle democracy” further following the move to the cabinet system in May.
Consultation papers sent out by the council’s new chief executive Jess Gibbons show over 30 job roles could be “deleted” while 26 new posts are proposed and others amended. Among the roles to be deleted include the vacant post of corporate director corporate services. The consultation paper said most of the role’s functions will be reorganised to report directly to the CEO.
A new role of head of cabinet office is proposed who will report directly to the council’s CEO with a “dotted line” to the leader of the council. “This role will lead on public affairs, economic growth and devolution, council plan refresh and delivery monitoring, support for policy development to deliver ou.
