WEST Midlands councils must cut more than £1.5 billion from their budgets as a result of the Government’s emergency financial measures.

The scale of the Chancellor’s medicine – a 28.4 per cent reduction in council spending by 2014 – was at the upper level of estimates.

And while George Osborne had some not-quite-such-bad news – education spending will rise, transport projects including Birmingham’s Midland Metro and New Street Station are protected – the general thrust of his message was that local government must deliver unprecedented cuts.

Birmingham City Council’ expects to have to find £230 million in direct service cuts and will also lose £100 in Government grants.

Mr Osborne suggested that almost 500,000 local government jobs across the country will disappear over the next four years, a figure that is likely to translate to about 80,000 jobs in the West Midlands.

When the impact on private sector firms which rely on the public sector for winning contracts is taken into account, the hammer blow for the jobs market is bound to be far greater.

Apart from Birmingham, several other local authorities have already begun work on savage cuts plans:

* Dudley Council envisages at least £70 million of savings.

* Wolverhampton Council is also planning to cut £70 million.

* Coventry Council has published plans to save £146 million and cut at least 1,000 jobs.

* Walsall Council initially said it might be forced to sack half its 10,200 workforce, but later watered down the estimate to “hundreds of staff”.

* Shropshire Council has plans to cut budgets by £60 million over three years, offloading some services to the voluntary sector.

* Worcestershire County Council believes up, to 800 jobs will go in a £60 million cuts package.

* Staffordshire County Council predicts up to 1,000 job losses.