Wiltshire Council is proposing to slash its staff budget by £10 million over the next two years.

Around £2.1m of the proposals relate to "changes in terms and conditions" for all existing staff.

The council’s chief executive said the cuts were necessary to “address the significant budget shortfall that we have” and said “there is no perfect solution as savings are needed”.

The council insists that the cuts are not due to any overspend but blames the effect of Covid, inflation and increased demand for its services.

Following concerns expressed by staff to this newspaper which we put to the council, Terence Herbert, chief executive of Wiltshire Council, issued a statement this afternoon.

It reads: “We hugely value our staff and are proud of the commitment and hard work they show day in and day out, particularly over the last two years in response to the pandemic.

“We are legally required to set a balanced budget and, given the challenging financial situation ourselves and all local authorities are facing, we have had to make difficult decisions to deliver savings to bridge the budget gap.

“All the budget proposals we’ve put forward are not because of any overspend but due to a number of factors including the ongoing impact of the pandemic, the demand for services, rising inflation, and ensuring we are on the strongest financial footing possible over the long-term.

“The staffing budget proposals we have put forward for consideration, if agreed, will make savings of £10m over the next two years.

“In having to make these savings our priority has always been to try to ensure we don’t have to make redundancies and can protect employment.

“Any changes to terms and conditions to deliver savings will impact on individuals and there is no perfect solution as savings are needed to address the significant budget shortfall that we have.

“The biggest proportion of the proposed savings in staffing budgets are around removal of vacant posts and managing turnover, however around £2.1m of the proposals relate to changes in terms and conditions.

“We recognise that any changes to employee terms and conditions can be difficult however, given the council’s financial challenges, we believe overall that they are the right proposals.

“We discussed a number of options with the recognised trade unions and they agreed to specifically consult with their members on the proposals in recognition that our existing unsocial hours, overtime, standby and call out policies are no longer fit for purpose and are not in line with the way we work or with policies in other similar organisations.

“The proposals we are making will impact all staff, not just those in specific roles or doing specific working patterns and will ensure a consistent approach across the organisation.

“The budget proposals are subject to the ongoing negotiations with the recognised trade unions with the aim of reaching agreement on how these savings can be achieved by 1 April 2022.

“We recognise the sensitive nature of the proposals and we ensured staff were fully aware of all the details and the context behind them before the budget papers were published.

“We are taking all feedback we receive on this very seriously and are listening to any concerns raised. At this stage no final decisions have been made and we are regularly liaising with the trade unions, and keeping our staff fully updated as the process continues.”