THE North-East’s biggest council could face spending cuts of more than £200m over the next four years, it emerged yesterday.

Last week, Labour-run Durham County Council announced plans to slash £125m from its £1bn-a-year budget by 2015, including axing up to 2,000 jobs.

But yesterday, leader Simon Henig said Government plans to stop redistributing income from business rates could cost the authority a further £80m a year.

He said: “The change would mean the end of a national level of services.

“It’s a very, very serious issue for Durham and the whole of the North-East.”

The coalition Government is considering ditching the national redistribution of nondomestic business rates according to need. This would allow councils to keep cash raised locally, in a bid to encourage them to help develop the economy.

Currently, revenue raised through the rates is pooled by the Government and redistributed nationally, according to the number of people living in the area.

However, Coun Henig said that while this would benefit the richer London and the South-East by £3.5bn-a-year, poorer areas would suffer – with Liverpool losing £100m, Bradford £90m and County Durham £80m.

The change could come into force in 2013-14, year three of Durham County Council’s four-year medium-term financial plan – something Coun Henig said would be “almost impossible” to cope with.

The £125m-worth of cuts planned so far include £6m from home-to-school transport funding, £1.5m from libraries, £1.3m from leisure centres and £2m from inhouse social care.

Council tax for 2011-12 would be frozen at current levels, but waste collections could be reduced to once a fortnight.

Councillor Nigel Martin, leader of the council’s Liberal Democrats, said his group was working on alternative proposals, including:

• Freezing council tax;

• Protecting services for vulnerable people;

• Cutting spending on management and communications.

He said: “The reason we’re in this mess is because of what happened before, under the last Labour government.”

Councillor Richard Bell, Conservative group leader, said the Labour cabinet could have done more to protect frontline services. His group wanted to protect home-tocollege transport for post-16 students, while cutting back the council’s newsletter and concessionary travel and introducing extra parking charges.

“We recognise this is a very tough settlement from the Government,” he said.

The council’s budget for 2011-12 will be set at a full council meeting on Wednesday, February 23.