BOURNEMOUTH Christchurch and Poole Council let more than 100 employees go last year, figures show, costing millions of pounds in redundancy payments.

The Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers said job losses will continue across England because the Government does not see local councils as a priority.

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show 177 exit packages, totalling £2 million were awarded by BCP Council in 2020-21.

There were 99 staff laid off the previous year, at a cost of £2.9 million.

The total value of exit packages nationally more than halved from £544 million in 2016-17 to £252 million last year in real terms.

Ian Miller, honorary secretary of the ALACE, said: "The higher spend between 2014 and 2017 reflects that councils were making very significant reductions in their workforce at that time as a result of the Government's austerity programme which has cut funding for local government since 2010.

"Job cuts will continue because local government has not been a priority for this or previous governments."

Since 2014-15, the average cost of exit payments has risen by 31 per cent for senior employees – when adjusted for inflation – and 15 per cent for those below this level.

The figures were published as part of the Government's research into ending "excessively high" exit payments in the public sector.

Legislation passed last year – which capped payments at £95,000 – was revoked in February after the Government admitted it may have had "unintended consequences" for the lowest paid workers.

The average cost of all exit packages in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole last year was much lower, at £11,383 – down from £29,776 in 2019-20.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We are currently liaising with the Government to change the return as we understand the figures to be different from those published.

“BCP Council is embarking upon a transformation journey that started with LGR where multiple teams were brought together into a large unitary council to deliver services across the conurbation more efficiently and effectively without impacting on service delivery.

"BCP Council will continue to invest in data and technology to improve the effectiveness of the Services that it delivers which will result in further reduction to the workforce. We have been transparent about this direction of travel and ensure to engage and consult with the workforce and wider stakeholders in the appropriate manner when these transformation milestones are reached.”