TWO million pounds has been made available by Bromsgrove District Council to help with a major staff restructuring programme at Burcot Lane.

District councillors voted to release the money at a special meeting on May 24 to cover the shake up of senior management.

The money will be released from capital receipts with £1,250,000 going towards the restructure and an additional £750,000 to support improvements.

Restructuring plans, as exclusively revealed in the Advertiser/Messenger last month, could see job losses at the council with senior managers having to reapply for their jobs in the hope of improving efficiency and performance.

However, the release of money has not been met with total approval.

Labour group leader councillor Peter McDonald (Waseley) said: "It is like handing out a blank cheque to the failing council and giving money to lunatics in a lunatics' asylum.

"It has been agreed without discussion or a cost analysis. There has been no indication on exactly where the money will be spent or what the benefits will be. It is a case of throwing good money after bad."

A council spokesman said: "We are following the course of action agreed by members in April but have not got a blank cheque.

"We are finalising how the money will be spent in support of the council recovery.

"We do not know exactly how the money will be spent."