No compulsory redundancies to balance the books

North Lanarkshire Council promises no sackings will be necessary when it unveils its budget

The council has already made savings of £22 million and faces having to set a budget tomorrow which takes into account cuts of another £64 million.

The cuts threatened up to 1,500 jobs, but the ruling Labour Group is confident it has put together a plan that will see the books being balanced using only voluntary redundancy, redeployment and natural wastage.

A spokesman for the Labour Group said: “Local Government in Scotland is being decimated by the SNP Government in Edinburgh.

“£117 million has been cut from North Lanarkshire’s budget in the last five years and we face an additional £64 million for the coming financial year.

“Despite this, after months of hard work, the Labour Group can confirm that there will be no compulsory redundancies in North Lanarkshire when the budget is announced tomorrow.”