´óÏó´«Ã½

Leicestershire County Council has announced plans to axe a further 500 jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures.

In January 2011, the Tory-led authority said it would be shedding 1,000 post in the next four years.

Five hundred of those posts have since been cut, but the council said it would now be getting rid of 1,000 more jobs, bringing the total to 1,500.

The posts are due to be closed by the end of March 2016.

Leicestershire County Council said the job cuts were part of a bid to save £98m over five years.

This amounts to an additional £10m savings in services to those announced in January 2011.

The council said the cuts were needed due to a nearly 40% reduction in government funding, an increase in demand for key services including social care and waste disposal and the loss of funding to academies.

The savings are expected to be made in road maintenance, libraries and museums and the reorganisation of the children and young people's service.

David Parsons, the council's leader, said: "We face a very challenging situation.

"Last year, we took prudent decisions to balance our budget, but now, faced with further pressures, we have to save more.

"By concentrating on efficiency savings, being very clear about our priorities and working with communities on new ways to deliver services, we can handle this responsibly."

The proposals would be discussed at a council meeting on 17 January and then be put out to public consultation until 31 January, the council said.

Leicester City Council has also recently announced revised proposals to make £40m savings.

Six hundred posts will be cut over the next four years and council tax would rise by 3.5% from April, under the plans.