Concern over effect of council vacancies

Fears for staff and services in nearly one in five roles unfilled

- BY BELINDA RYAN, LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER

COUNCILLORS expressed concern about the impact on services and staff after learning nearly one fifth of posts at Cheshire East Council are vacant.

The council currently employees 2,692 full-time equivalent staff.

The vacancy rate has increased from 16.6 per cent to 17.4 per cent in the last three-month period.

At the time of writing there are 49 posts being advertised on the council's website, excluding teaching, and these include admin assistants, housing standards officer, social workers, arborist, gatekeeper, librarian and landscape officer.

The council is currently undergoing a transformation programme, which involves changing the way it works in a bid to save nearly £100 million over the next four years.