ALMOST 2,000 council jobs are under immediate threat in the North-East due to the strain of continuing spending cuts, according to a survey by the GMB union.

Areas affected by cuts included bin collections, home helps and meals-on-wheels services. GMB national officer Justin Bowden said this made a mockery of the Government's insistence that front line services would not be hit by austerity measures.

The union said many councils had been hit by worse-than-expected Government funding reductions which would result in rising council tax bills and more cuts, pushing local authorities“further to the edge”.

It expects many authorities will have to be put up council tax by the maximum permitted level of 3.9-per cent.

Other additional charges, for services like garden waste collections and bereavement services, are being levied in many areas, including County Durham and Sunderland, it said.

Council leaders have sought meetings with ministers warning of the effect of the crippling cuts.

But, a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government, said the Government is seeking to provide long-term funding settlements to allow local authorities, for the first time, to, “plan with certainty”, over the remaining lifetime of this Parliament.