The number of people working for councils in south and west Dorset has almost halved in the past seven years.

As well as redundancies, many more people have been transferred to other sectors and councils in the east of the county.

A new study by GMB of official data shows that in between the second quarter (Q2) of 2010 and Q2 2017 there was a drop of 8,711 in the headcount for employment figures at Dorset County Council (DCC). Headcount employment figures dropped from 18,266 in 2010 to 9,555 in 2017.

In Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset and North Dorset the headcount was 1,330 in 2010 and 724 in 2017 – a drop of 606.

In total headcount across all the above councils employment figures dropped by 9,317.

Across the South West there was a drop of 91,400 in the headcount for employment numbers.

A spokesman for DCC said the council were unable to confirm the figures for Q2 but their figures for the same period in Q1 showed a drop of 5,980 from 16,279 in 2010 to 10,299 in 2017.

DCC cabinet member for workforce, Cllr Peter Wharf, said: “Between 2010 and 2017 there has been a significant drop in the number of staff employed by Dorset County Council. This is due in part to schools becoming academies - more than 2,500 staff - and around 1,200 staff transferring out of the county council when Tricuro, the county council’s main care provider, was formed. 

“The county council remains a major shareholder in Tricuro.

“That leaves more than 2,250 fewer members of staff for a variety of other reasons, including the Youth Offending Team transferring to Bournemouth Borough Council and the Adult Learning Team transferring to the Borough of Poole. 

“However, around 360 Dorset Waste Partnership employees transferred in to the county council, when the DWP was formed, starting in April 2011.

“Other reductions in our workforce have been influenced by reductions in central government funding and/or specific funding to support the delivery of certain services.

“These issues, along with our commitment to continue to work as effectively as possible, have led to an ongoing review of services to make sure that we are delivering our aims and objectives in an efficient and affordable way. 

“Through careful planning, including managing vacancies and using voluntary redundancies, we have tried to mitigate the impact of this organisational change on the workforce and minimise compulsory redundancies.”

The drop in headcount in Bournemouth was -51.4 per cent between 2010 and 2017. This was the biggest drop in Dorset and Wiltshire area. 

It was followed by Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset and North Dorset where the drop was -45.6 per cent. 

Paul Maloney, GMB regional secretary, said: “Local councils area have been faced with savage cuts in the number of people they employ to carry out vital services for local residents. Even when changes in definitions and the movement of workers in and out of the council’s employment are taken into account the drop in headcount has been massive.

“Changes of this magnitude have impacted on all the services that local government are responsible for people and businesses in their areas. Every service such as social care, schools, housing and planning and waste collection, as well as licensing, business support, registrar services and pest control, have been impacted in one way or another. 

“The chronic shortage of funds has particularly impacted on social care and the lack of capacity has had impacts further upstream in the National Health Service due to bed-blocking. In some areas street lighting has been turned off at night, giving rise to concerns over public safety. No area or service has been immune to the drop in headcount for eight councils in the region of 77,200.

“The message from GMB and from local councils to central government is that the cuts have gone far enough and in fact we need to start a period where the services are built back up again. This will be the central message that GMB will be taking to the electorate in forthcoming local council elections.”