UP to 500 jobs could go at a North council struggling to pay for road repairs, an aging population and the fallout from the Baby P tragedy.

Finance chiefs at North Yorkshire County Council are warning of tough decisions ahead as the authority works out how to plug a £40m hole in its budget.

As well as an expected five per cent cut in its government grant, the council is facing a drop in income from investments coupled with a surge in demand for its services.

In a briefing with the media this week, chief executive John Marsden warned that between 300 and 500 jobs could go in the next few years.

Although most will go through retirement, non-replacement and re-deployment, he did not rule out some redundancies at the authority, which currently employs 24,000 people.

Among the budget pressures faced by the council is a drop in income from investments, which once brought in more than £5m a year but now add virtually nothing to council coffers.

Mr Marsden, who will leave this month to become chief executive of North Tyneside Council, said the authority had seen its social services costs increase by £400,000 a year because of an increase in referrals following the death of Baby P.

He said the tragedy had forced the council to take a “belt and braces” approach child protection.

Mr Marsden outlined other pressures on the budget such as the estimated £1m road repair bill for damage caused this winter, the council’s commitment to carbon reduction and the pressure on adult services caused by the ageing population.

He predicted a £40m gap between expenditure and income in the next two years if current service levels were maintained.

As well as the existing efficiency programme driven by central government, the council is looking at all areas of its work for further savings.

Mr Marsden listed libraries as an area where potential savings could be found, raising the possibility of reduced opening hours and closures.

He said officers would work hard to make savings from contract negotiations, including the highways contract which will shortly be due for renewal.

He also hoped that further Murder victim ‘a target of youths’ A MAN beaten to death in his home was regularly targeted by gangs of youths, police said.

Andrew Smart, 47, a former self-employed software engineer, was found dead at 6.30pm on February 28 at his home in Sibthorpe Street, North Shields, North Tyneside.

Detectives revealed Mr Smart was an alcoholic who was targeted by teenagers who came into his home to cause trouble.

Three youths, aged 13, 14 and 15, who were arrested in connection with the incident, were last night released on bail pending further inquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Bent, who is leading the murder investigation, said: “We now know Andrew Smart battled an alcohol problem and was seen as a vulnerable figure in the area he lived.

‘‘This is a very sad case.

He had been a hard-working, intelligent man who held down a good job as a self-employed software engineer.

But some years ago he stopped working and began to drink and we believe that because of this, he had been targeted by teenagers in the area.

“We are still trying to establish the extent of the problem and how many young people were involved, but this is one line of inquiry we are following.”

By Joe Willis joe.willis@nne.co.uk significant cuts would be found through improvements in technology.