Richmond Council leader Lord True said he was ‘utterly unrepentant’ about the decision to merge staffing with Wandsworth Council amid union concerns 110 jobs will be at risk.

In the face of swingeing cuts from central government, last year Richmond Council struck a deal to merge services with Wandsworth from March 2017.

Richmond Council expects to make savings of £7.3million from the Shared Staffing Arrangement (SSA) – with officers identifying further potential savings of £2.3million from ‘joint ventures’, such as procurement and contracts.

A Section 188 notice, summarising all potential redundancies, was issued on March 30 to union Unison on behalf of the two local authorities confirming 110 employees are at risk of redundancy.

The number may be smaller, depending on the two councils’ efforts to ‘redeploy’ staff, but severance payments will be offered to those who cannot be placed elsewhere.

The notice read: “Unfortunately, given the current financial climate, the councils have no option other than to reorganise services in order to deliver the necessary financial savings.”

Unison, which represents employees at both local authorities, said the SSA was a source of ‘great concern’, but it was working to minimise job losses.

A Unison spokesman said: “Our members across both Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are understandably concerned about the impact of the proposed merger on their jobs and on local services.

“Local authority funding cuts made by central government are forcing councils to consider drastic measures such as this to cut costs.

“Unison representatives have been negotiating hard, alongside colleagues from the other unions, with employer representatives for ‎several months now to try to minimise loss of jobs and protect Unison members pay, terms and conditions.

Richmond Council leader Lord True stressed it was the right move – in the current financial climate – in order to protect services.

He said: “This is a big, big, pioneering move – there are going to be changes to management but we are utterly unrepentant.

“We are faced with a situation in which we have to try to make savings, by cutting bureaucratic costs to protect the vital services – the front-line services.”

Then-opposition leader Stephen Knight called for a referendum when the SSA was announced last year, but Lord True said objections from Liberal Democrats had not been accompanied by any ‘realistic, credible alternative’.

Lord True also emphasised it is only back office staff which will be shared, and decisions affecting Richmond residents would still be made by Richmond Council.

Richmond Council cabinet will discuss the staffing merger on Thursday, April 21.