NEW council cutbacks could see 16 Police Community Support Officers and several subsidised bus routes axed in Blackburn with Darwen.

The cuts, which also confirm the loss of 500 Town Hall jobs, are part of borough finance chief, Cllr Andy Kay’s plan to find £45million of government imposed savings over the next three years.

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Also at risk as he tries to save more than £15million annually are:

  • In-house services for older people and those with learning disabilities including Hopwood Court day centre and the Stansfield and St Aiden’s short break services;
  • Supported accommodation for adolescents other than the two council residential children’s homes;
  • Financial support for services for troubled youngsters including Nightsafe and Foyer.

Opposition councillors have described the cuts as ‘short-sighted’ and ‘a bad mistake’.

The job losses, many of which will be made through compulsory redundancy, will save £15million by 2021.

More than 900 posts have been scrapped since 2010.

Previously discretionary charges for council services such as cemeteries and crematoriums, parking fees and entrance to leisure centres and gyms were also announced to increase.

Spending on highway maintenance is also set to be reduced as the council’s four year £17.5million Network Recovery Programme comes to an end in March.

The latest round of cutbacks comes despite a planned increase in council tax of 3.99 per cent annually, typically £36-a-year, for the next three years.

The proposals provide details of cutbacks heralded in March this year when Cllr Kay announced his target of slashing the borough budget by March 2021.

The most controversial will be cutting the council’s £178,000-a-year contribution to Lancashire Police’s budget to pay towards 16 of the borough’s 38 PCSOs and halving the remaining subsidy for loss-making bus services, saving £150,000 annually.

The proposals are due to be confirmed at a full borough Policy Council meeting at 6pm tonight.

Borough Tory group leader, Cllr John Slater, said: “These are short-sighted cuts which show the Labour administration’s skewed priorities.

“Cutting subsidies to bus services will hit the elderly, the vulnerable and the young damaging social inclusion.

“Removing police community support officers is a short-sighted move.

“They are an important link between police and the public and make the borough feel safer for residents.

“I do not think residents, who are now paying more than £1,000-a-year in council tax, are getting value for their money.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Roy Davies said: “Cutting the cash contribution for 16 PCSOs is a bad mistake.

“With the rising number of incidents of crime and violence in the borough, the last thing we need to do is cut the number of officers.

“Removing vital subsidies for loss making bus services will hit the old, the young and those needing to get to hospital.”

But Cllr Kay said Town Hall bosses have had to review anything not described as ‘core business’.

He said: “We do not want to make these cuts.

“They are being forced on us by the government which will have taken £140million from our budgets between 2010 and 2021.

“We do not want to lose PCSOs but they are not part of our core business.

“We will be reviewing all our discretionary charges and we are looking at another 500 jobs losses, some of which sadly will be compulsory.”

A spokesman for council staff’s union, UNISON, said: “This confirms the terrible news for people in Blackburn and Darwen revealed in March.

“The latest cuts will have a further damaging impact on service provision in the borough.”

The latest round of job cuts will reduce the borough’s town hall workforce to 60 percent of its number in 2010.

Already 1,137 staff have left a total of 903 full-time equivalent posts.

They include people retiring, getting new jobs as well as 398 voluntary redundancies, 173 early retirements and 266 compulsory redundancies.

The 16 PCSO’s part paid for by the council currently cost it £11,100 each, a total of £178,000-a-year.

Cllr Kay said Burnley Council had already made a similar decision to cut its cash contribution for PCSOs.

The reduction of more than 50 per cent in the council bus route subsidy will save £100,000 in 2017/2018 and £150,000-a-year after that.

Cllr Kay aims to save more than £500,000-a-year from the council’s adult social care and children’s services budgets.