MILLIONS of pounds of taxpayer money has been spent on council redundancies in the last year.

The biggest three councils in Sussex laid off 156 employees in the 2021 to 2022 period costing £2,603,981 in exit packages.

East Sussex County Council laid off 52 members of staff costing £996,639, while West Sussex County Council struck off 64, shelling out £958,662.

Brighton and Hove City Council spent £648,680 of taxpayer money on exit deals for 40 people – down on the 2019 to 2020 period where it spent £1,592,571 on redundancies.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said council workers were struck off due to budget cuts and an increase in services.

Andrew Western, chairman of the LGA's resources board, said councils have made layoffs in order to avoid further pressure on taxpayers.

"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,” he said.

Some 9,744 council workers in England were made redundant in the 2021 to 2022 period – up from 9,454 in 2020 to 2021.

However, the financial situation across England is improving with exit package spending falling for the fifth consecutive year, from £250 million on the previous period to £210 million most recently.

Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also shows the average redundancy package across England fell from £27,000 to £22,000 in the year to March.

Ian Miller, honorary secretary of the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers, said this shows there was no need for the exit-payment cap briefly introduced by the Government in 2020.

The cap, which meant public sector bodies' redundancy packages could not top £95,000, was brought in in November 2020, before being scrapped three months later.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said the £648,680 figure also includes “the costs of notice periods for some staff”.

“The funding we receive from government has reduced by more than £100 million in the last ten years or so,” he said.

“In this context, we have agreed policies in place to manage staff leaving the organisation, including redundancies that arise from changes or reductions to services.

“A member of staff who has worked for us for decades will clearly receive more than one with only a few years of service.

“Our policies are consistent with national guidelines, including reference to statutory redundancy payments.

“The financial impact is transparently reported to and published by government.”

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman from East Sussex County Council also said government cuts had affected its budget.

“We have had to make some difficult decisions to protect vital services,” she said. “This has included a number of redundancies over the past decade as well as voluntary severance to help minimise the need for compulsory redundancies in the future.

“While our priority is always to ensure the best possible services and support are available for residents, it is necessary to also treat our employees fairly in such circumstances.”

West Sussex County Council said it tries to keep the costs of any exit packages “as low as possible in order to provide value for money” to its residents.

“When a redundancy is made, a carefully considered process is followed to ensure that our economical, statutory and contractual commitments are upheld,” a spokeswoman said.

“A large and complex organisation such as the county council must adapt to a changing finances and services, and unfortunately this sometimes means changes to staffing are needed.”