The deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council has said making dozens of council workers redundant at a cost of £1.5 million will save the authority millions more in the long run.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show around 50 people were made redundant by Brighton and Hove City Council in 2023-24.

The £1.5 million sum was up from £484,000 the year before.

The number of redundancies is rounded to the nearest ten.

Nationally, councils spent just under £200 million on redundancies in the year to March – up from £183 million and the first rise since 2016-17.

The figures also showed a record 380 senior employees were made redundant last year, costing councils £29.7 million, the highest figure since 2018-19.

Councillor Jacob Taylor, deputy leader and cabinet member, finance and city regeneration, said redundancies were necessary to manage the council’s finances.

“Like so many local authorities across the country, we had been forced to make significant financial savings and have taken every possible step to protect our vital frontline services,” he said.

“Unfortunately, taking the difficult but necessary decisions needed to manage the council’s finances has included a reduction in staff numbers as we change how some services are delivered.

“Where possible staff at risk of redundancy have been redeployed into suitable, vacant posts elsewhere in the council. This was not possible for everyone and we have a statutory duty to provide appropriate redundancy packages to those colleagues leaving the council.

“It is important to view the one-off cost of those redundancies in the wider context of enabling a £1.44 million in staff savings in 2023/24 - savings which are permanent and over the next decade will save the council more than £14 million.”

Read more: Largest cuts in council's history backed by councillors

The Local Government Association said councils are facing "significant financial pressures", with the number of employees falling over the last decade.

It said councils require adequate funding and long-term certainty to meet rising costs and avoid more redundancies in the future.

An LGA spokesman said: "The number of people working in local government has reduced in size over the last decade as councils continue to face significant financial pressures.

"In this context, councils make decisions based on their contractual and legal responsibilities when determining the level of severance or settlement payments made to their employees.

"Councils need adequate funding and longer-term certainty to meet rising costs and demand pressures and avoid more redundancies.

"This will also prevent exacerbating an already acute capacity crisis in some areas, with more than nine in ten councils experiencing staff recruitment and retention difficulties."

An LGA survey following last year's Autumn Statement showed almost one in five council leaders said they would likely face bankruptcy in the next two years.

In a speech at the LGA forum, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: "We will end the Dragons' Den approach, as I see it, of the bidding wars between local authorities and instead show you some respect with long-term funding giving you the flexibility to spend it where it is needed."