New figures show Peterborough City Council axed 23 jobs last year at a cost of £293,234

Peterborough City Council spent more than £200,000 over the last financial year as it made more than 20 staff redundant, according to new figures.

Statistics from the Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that 23 people were laid off by the council in 2021-22 at an average of £12,749 per person.

It meant the council paid a total of £293,234 in exit packages last year – up from £220,805 in 2020-21.

But this was below the £2,553,537 paid out in 2019-20, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The departures came as the council battled to bridge a multi-million pound gap in its funding.

Across England, the total amount spent on exit payments by local authorities fell for the fifth successive year, from £250 million in 2020-21 to £210 million last year.

However, more staff were laid off than the year before, 9,744 compared to 9,454.

Andrew Western, chairman of the Local Government Association's resources board, said: “Without funding from the Government to meet the pressure of an accelerating National Living Wage on top of soaring energy and other costs, more redundancies are likely, exacerbating the capacity crisis that is already acute in some areas and impacting the delivery of services to the public.”

The data also shows the average exit payment across England fell from £27,000 to £22,000 in the year to March.

A spokesperson for the city council said: “There is currently no corporate redundancy scheme open.

"We have and will continue to always minimise any job losses at the council.”