Another 218 Brum jobs on chopping block- sport and fitness hardest hit

Birmingham City Council has issued two new Section 188 redundancy notices that will likely lead to the loss of another 218 full time and part time public sector jobs.

The notices have been issued by the Housing and Constituencies Directorate and trigger a mandatory consultation period with the trade unions.

One of the notices targets 173 jobs in service areas including sports and leisure, community libraries, ward support, management administration and school crossing patrols.

The vast majority of the jobs at risk, 65%, are in the realm of sports and leisure with 113 possible redundancies. Another 42 redundancies are indicated for the area of community development. The Section 188 lists only one management position at risk.

There’s also a breakdown by constituency indicating that Hall Green will bear the brunt of the job losses, with a total of 94 out of 173. The area second hardest hit is Ladywood with 30 targeted redundancies.

The second Section 188 notice is also from the Housing and Constituencies Directorate and targets another 45 jobs. This is the fallout from the government’s decision in June of this year to axe the £49.9billion Working Neighbourhood Fund as well as several smaller programs.

The key programs affected are Neighbourhood Management, Town Centre Management, Constituency Employment and Community Safety Management. Some projects will be able to continue if other funding streams are found.

Birmingham City Council indicates it is trying to mitigate job losses through early retirement and voluntary redundancy.