JOB losses at the county’s archive service could not be ruled out yesterday as the council came in for heavy criticism over plans to slash its budget by more than half next year.

A draft budget approved by Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet at a meeting in December outlined a £405,000 cut to the archive and archaeological service next year which would mean the service, based at the Hive in Worcester, would have its budget slashed from £700,000 to £295,000.

At a council meeting, Councillor Richard Udall urged Cllr Hodgson to reassure the service’s staff over the possibility of compulsory redundancies.

He said that Cllr Hodgson’s desire to remove the part of the motion which asked the council to confirm there would be no compulsory redundancies was “effectively giving notice to staff that they would soon be losing their jobs.”

He added the move was “shocking, callous and mean.”

An amended Labour motion which stated the council would “endeavour to” protect the archive and archaeological service was eventually passed at a full meeting of the county council on Thursday (January 17).

Cllr Lucy Hodgson, cabinet member for communities, said she recognised the county’s archive and archaeology service was “well-loved” but the council was having to make a number of difficult decisions whilst it looked at where it was financially.

Cllr Hodgson agreed to form an advisory group - to iron out where savings can be made and how the service can generate more money - but said she could not support Labour’s motion of supporting no compulsory redundancies and said the council had to remain “flexible” with budgets.

Cllr Chris Bloore accused the council of ignoring the recommendations of a scrutiny report from 2014 into the archive services and called the proposed cut a “self-inflicted wound” and the lack of action had “come back to bite” the council.

He said: “Yet again we have been exposed of not doing the work that we should have been doing and yet again another service is on the brink because of it.”