KNOWSLEY Council has announced 130 job losses as a result of government funding cuts.

As part of plans to make savings of £34 million, the authority confirmed that the posts will go in 2015/16.

According to a council spokesperson, the savings can only be made through reducing the level of services provided – which means reducing the workforce.

The proposed savings include reducing opening hours at the borough’s libraries, reducing highways and environ-mental maintenance, and increasing e-billing and online services.

Councillor Ron Round, leader of Knowsley Council said: “Knowsley’s funding has been cut more than any other council in the country. We are doing all we can to protect services for residents but we are having to make some difficult decisions about reducing the services we provide as well as our own workforce. The wide-ranging proposals, together with the job losses, reflect just how far we are having to go to make the required savings. “We will be talking to our staff and communities regarding the proposals and how we can limit the impact they may have."

“Unfortunately, the 130 jobs we need to lose next year will still not solve our long-term funding problems. Unless a future government finds a way to give us the funding we deserve, further service reductions are inevitable. We will of course do everything we can to maximise the numbers who leave voluntarily but the scale of the funding cuts means that compulsory redundancies are unavoidable.”

The council’s workforce has been cut by a quarter since 2010.