Significant cuts to the public sector purse will result in local government having to work together to achieve economies of scale in procuring recruitment services, according to Dean Shoesmith, president of the Public Sector People Managers’ Association (PPMA) and joint executive HR director, Sutton and Merton Councils.

Yesterday, communities secretary Eric Pickles announced English councils face average cuts in “spending power” of 4.4% next year.

Shoesmith told Recruiter: “We are likely to see a downturn in recruitment. There will be a lot less advertising for recruitment services and a migration to outplacement services. It will be across the board, but less so for essential public services such as childcare services. I can’t see us making many of those people redundant.

“I think there will be a whole range of roles that will be redundant. Local authorities will be transforming what they do or in worst case scenarios stopping non-essential services. It will be back office and some front-of-house services, if they are non-essential services, due to a profound budget reduction.

“Many people don’t realise that the grant from government makes up the majority of the income for local government. Most people think that it comes from council tax. Council tax makes up a small amount and usually 60-70% comes from the central government grant so if that is cut, it will have a big impact.

“I think local government could do more of what we have done in London where we have a London Boroughs recruitment partnership. It is led by Sutton and Merton. We have a collaboration of 28 of the London boroughs for collaborating, commissioning a number of recruitment services.

“We have seen a big migration from print advertising to online advertising. In some jobs, we don’t need to go through the media. If we have an entry level admin role, if we post those jobs on our own website, we will be deluged by applicants anyway.

“We still struggle with specialist skills like child care protection officers, planners to a degree, environmental health officers, building control inspectors — specialist technical areas where we will struggle to recruit.”

Andy Robling, public services director at Hays, adds: “With a large deficit to tackle, the reduction of funds allocation is not unexpected but job cuts must be handled properly. Our research shows many public sector organisations understand the need to keep staff informed, that they are taking action to ensure the top team is visible and that they regularly communicate with individuals across the organisation, so that they understand reasons for change and input where necessary.

“Success depends on organisations supporting all employees through this period of transition — those who are made redundant, both emotionally and practically with finding a new job, as well as those who are left behind. With more workers than ever before moving out of the public sector it’s important to make sure those who are made redundant are able to identify where their transferable skills lie and how they can best present themselves to give them the greatest chances of finding a new role.”

Sue Rippin HR services director at HR services provider NorthgateArinso, says: “There’s no reason why every council needs its own, separate back office functions such as HR and payroll. Sharing these services, often with neighbouring councils, has already been proved to be an efficient way of saving money without compromising services.

“As the harsh reality of the government’s budget cuts hits local services, councils should be looking at which services can be shared as a first step towards operating for a lower budget. With the right processes and people in place, it’s a straight-forward way of keeping councils running for less.”