Cheltenham Borough Council is to cut the equivalent of 14 full-time posts under a new shared services programme that will be set up with neighbouring Tewkesbury Borough Council, under a new government five-year strategy to control costs.
Cabinet members will meet on Monday (26 October) to thrash out ways of cutting costs within HR, revenues and benefits, customer services, finance, and information computer technology (ICT).
Job cuts in the HR departments of Cheltenham and Tewkesbury councils are expected to equate to two full-time roles and produce annual savings of around £83,000, explained Amanda Attfield, assistant director HR and organisational development at Cheltenham Borough Council.
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“In HR we are in the process of setting up a shared service with Tewkesbury Borough Council, which means that the two HR teams will come together as one under one leader. We will deliver one service from Cheltenham back to Tewkesbury.”
Processes such as bill payments and payroll at Cheltenham Borough Council will also be merged with six other local authorities under the new strategy.