Bedford Borough Council is planning to reduce staff numbers as part of its financial recovery programme.
This is forecast to save £4.2 million a year in savings from April 2026 through what its Improvement Plan described as “strategic downsizing”.
A report to Full Council (14 January) said the council’s financial challenges “cannot be met without a careful review and planned reduction in the overall staff and agency complement.”
Alongside permanent staffing changes, the council also intends to reduce its reliance on agency workers, introducing a policy that no agency employee should remain in the same assignment for more than 12 weeks.
Read: Bedford Borough Council faces £58.6m medium-term gap as borrowing rises and savings tighten
The workforce changes form part of a broader restructuring programme linked to the council’s financial recovery, following a reported £32.5 million in-year shortfall and a £59 million funding gap over the lifetime of the Improvement Plan (2025-30).
Presenting the plan to Full Council, Bedford mayor Tom Wootton (Conservative) said: “Our council finances are in a poor state. Our resilience is limited, and there are difficult choices ahead, very difficult choices.”
Opposition reaction
Opposition councillors raised concerns about whether the authority could deliver major internal restructuring while also relying on external consultants to support service redesign.
Cllr Zara Layne (Labour, Harpur) questioned how the council could build the internal capacity needed to deliver the improvement plan.
“Given that service areas across the council are being asked to deliver significant staffing budget reductions, and voluntary redundancies have been pursued, how do you, mayor Tom, realistically consider that you can build the internal capacity that we need to deliver the improvement plan whilst also reducing headcount across the council and relying on external consultants?” she asked.
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Responding, the mayor acknowledged the challenge: “How do you do this sort of thing?” he asked.
“Well, you need a plan, this is the sort of plan we have. Yes, the headcount may have to change, and may have to fall, and voluntary redundancy is one of those things.
“But it is voluntary, and I don’t want to get into what might happen if that doesn’t particularly work. I think we have got a decent plan and a decent way of going out of it,” he said.
The council’s risk register warned that if sufficient resources and leadership capacity are not secured, the Improvement Plan may fail to deliver all its intended improvements.
Further details of staffing changes are expected as part of the council’s 2026/27 budget process.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
