PARKING meters and a greater use of charities could help the county council make £45 million cuts.

Worcestershire County Council has identified where it could make “efficiencies and savings” in its £306 million budget over the next three years.

Last year it announced cuts of around 15 per cent of its total budget to 2014, with public sector spending expected to plummet nationally.

Yesterday, plans of its savings programme Better Outcomes, Leaner Delivery showed how the first £10 million savings could be made in adult care and children’s services.

One idea is to introduce on-street parking meters, separate to the district and city councils’ parking enforcement schemes.

The measure would mean generating more cash, without having to make budget savings cuts, said finance chief Councillor Adrian Hardman.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can with efficiency reforms and the principle of ‘spend less, do less’, before we look at cuts,” said Coun Hardman. Chief executive Trish Haines said there were “good voluntary organisations” in the county which could be funded to deliver certain services for young people.

The county council has now identified roughly about a third – nine – of the areas set out last year as being targeted for cuts.

Officers and councillors have detailed proposals to reduce its own 400-strong home care service, which makes up about 40 per cent of the total service with estimated savings of £1.6 million.

Adrian Gregson, Worcestershire’s branch secretary for Unison, said the home care cuts were “huge”.

He said: “We simply do not believe that these levels of cuts can be imposed just by the turnover of staff.

“Any cuts to jobs, closures of services, will impact on the public and will reduce the quality and quantity of service.”

Full proposals have also been drawn up for the personalisation of adult care, introduced last year, where individuals are given their care budgets to spend as they wish. Savings are estimated at £2.7 million. The provision of youth clubs, targeted support for children, the schools’ improvement service, children’s arts and music service, and the home to school transport service are all targeted.

Some bus subsidies for students aged 16 attending could also be dropped.

There will also be reviews of adult social care at management level, high cost adult care packages, and providing back office support.

With staff pay and benefits taking up half the council’s budget, Coun Hardman said there could also be changes to workers’ terms and conditions.

As previously reported in your Worcester News, about 500 or 10 per cent of the council’s staff posts would go by 2014.