ANOTHER 400 jobs could be axed at a North-East council, as the toll of austerity tops £300m.

New figures from Durham County Council suggest the Labour-led authority will have to save £308m in the decade to 2020.

In an effort to cope with the unprecedented cuts, the North-East’s biggest council plans to spend another £25m of its reserves, outsource more public buildings and services to voluntary and community groups and increase council tax by two per cent.

But another 400 jobs may have to go too – on top of 1,950 posts axed since 2010.

Council leader Simon Henig said its staff were the authority’s biggest asset but it had to protect frontline services.

“We recognise our staff are our biggest asset, which is why we have strived so hard to protect as many jobs as possible, while making greater cuts to management and support costs.

“Sadly, like many public sector organisations, we may have to reduce our workforce further to prioritise spending on services wherever we can. Again, we will delete vacant posts and use redeployment to minimise the impact.”

The council has already closed leisure centres and care homes, cut library opening hours and slashed school transport funding in an effort to balance its budget.

It is currently planning to close the DLI Museum and cut the pay of teaching assistants, both of which are proving controversial.

But facing further Government grant reductions of up to £85m in the next four years, another 74 savings proposals have been tabled.

Cllr Henig said: “We have done our best to protect frontline services and to respond to the priorities set by the public and we are committed to maintaining this approach.

“Continuing spending cuts on this scale inevitable mean making tremendously difficult decisions including changes to services, altering how we deliver those services and reducing our own costs at the same time."

The council’s cabinet will discuss the budget when it meets at Durham Town Hall on Wednesday, December 16 and the Government will announce each council's grant funding the following day.

Opposition groups are expected to announce alternative budget proposals in the following weeks.

Consultation has already taken place with the council’s 14 Area Action Partnerships (AAPs) and will be open to the public from December 16 to January 12. Sessions will be held at St John’s RC School, Bishop Auckland on December 16 from 6pm to 7.30pm and on December 17 at Shotton Hall, Peterlee from 1pm to 2.30pm and County Hall, Durham from 6pm to 7.30pm. Visit durham.gov.uk/haveyoursay Final decisions on the 2016-17 budget will be taken in February.