Swansea Council to save £286k per year in jobs shake-up

SWANSEA Council is cutting its number of directors and heads of services.

Two posts will go in what the authority is describing as a "radical management shake-up".

The move, if approved by councillors on Thursday, will save £286,000 a year.

Jack Straw, Swansea Council's chief executive, said: "We need to ensure that our management and workforce are well-placed to deliver our priorities for the people of Swansea.

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"Budgets are reducing, demand for key services is increasing, the Government wants councils to collaborate and we have to continue improving our services.

"The proposals are a radical departure from the current approach. Traditionally, councils work on departmental lines, but under our new structure we will focus on cross-cutting issues to tackle poverty, create prosperity, focus on health inequalities and target deprived areas."

Since 2008 the number of senior managers has been cut by a third, from 33 to 22. Swansea Council worked with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to review its current manage structure.

Among the key changes will the appointment of a head of anti-poverty and prevention, the first time there's been such a role at the council. The job has been created to recognise the "authority's key priority which is to tackle poverty across the city".

Under the proposals, the chief executive will be supported by directors of place, people and corporate services along with chief officers for education, social services and operations.

The structure is said to bring together the council's work on social inclusion, poverty, welfare reform, Communities First areas and prevention and early intervention in schools.

It is also claimed to create a clear focus on frontline for services such as streetscene, highways, parks, property and building services, and target areas, a spokesman said.

Mr Straw added: "This will help us to make Swansea a fairer, safer, healthier and greener city which will benefit families across Swansea.

"It's also important to make management savings and these proposals will reduce our annual costs by £286,000 which can be reinvested in front-line services."