In a startling move announced this morning, the ruling Labour group is trying to ensure that cuts to council staffing levels come from the top down. A proposed review is going to look at the top two tiers of management within the organisation, with a view to having as little impact on front line services to the public as possible. Other local councils (Hull and North East Lincolnshire) have already written to all staff asking them to make proposals for voluntary redundancy. Here at North Linc�s council leaders seem to be taking a different approach, with a view to protecting front line services by thinning out un-necessary management structures. To do this, a group of four senior councillors have convened with the Chief Executive to look specifically at the future management structure of the council specifically with a view to streamlining senior management in an attempt to make service delivery more efficient. The councillors have already met with the trade unions and promise to consult with all relevant groups once the plans are more concrete. Earlier this year the council took the first step towards this review by freezing the replacement of all none frontline jobs. This some what prudent move has resulted in management posts not being replaced when a member of staff leaves for another job or retires, and has so far avoided the need for compulsory redundancy, thus saving the council tax payer from having to tin out on expensive golden goodbyes. Clearly with the up and coming cuts due to be announced this Wednesday, the group of four (Cllrs Kirk, Foster, Steve Swift and Andrea Davison) have started to try to plan ahead for cuts of what are expected to be anywhere between 20 and 40 percent. Cllr Mark Kirk, (leader of the council), said: "The council is facing some difficult decisions as the ConDem government announces its spending review next week. We could have the budget cut by 5, 10, 25 or even 40 per cent. We just don�t know. That doesn't mean we are resting on our laurels � we have been working behind-the-scenes to be prepared at whatever the government throws at us. This announcement comes just the day before local union leaders have organised a demonstration against the proposed budget cuts, which will be held on Wednesday evening at 5pm at Britannia Corner. Any one who is opposed to the cuts can support the demonstration which has been called by the North Lincolnshire Coalition Of Resistance. In an open letter to the local Evening Telegraph on Monday, the coalition stated "We reject the idea that ordinary people must pay for a crisis they didn't create. We reject the current blind acceptance that "we're all in this together" and that we have to accept changes that will affect "our whole way of life." In another statement, Cllr Andrea Davison also said "Other councils are set to make hundreds redundant but that is not something we wish to emulate. Making large numbers redundant, as Hull and North East Lincs want to do, does not save money in the short term � it can cost a lot of money to lay people off and that is money we could better spend on services for the taxpayers of North Lincolnshire. We value our staff, without them we cannot deliver the services residents of North Lincolnshire deserve." We are lead to believe that any proposed changes will not come in to effect until next year, and will be subject to the budget review Job cuts at any level are upsetting for those involved and their families, and hopefully, through a sensible and structured approach these can be kept to a minimum; what is refreshing however is the approach being taken here by the council leaders to cut out waste, streamline their business and protect front line services for the local community.