THE leader of the region’s biggest local authority last night revealed how he plans to cut £125m from its budget – only hours after a Government minister claimed the council receives funds that other authorities “can only dream of”.

Conservative Communities Secretary Eric Pickles immediately came under fire for his comments, made during Communities question time in the House of Commons.

He urged Durham County Council to spend its reserves – which he put at £93m – rather than cut frontline services.

He said: “Durham receives formula grant at £459 per head, a sum that the people of West Oxfordshire can only dream of.”

Council leader Simon Henig said Mr Pickles’ comments showed he simply did not understand the realities of local government funding.

“Mr Pickles, who represents a constituency in a wealthy part of Essex, fails to understand different parts of the country and their different needs.

“More people in Durham and other parts of the North- East depend on council services than in richer parts of the country,” he said.

Councillor Henig yesterday set out how the authority will cut £125m from its budget by 2015, saying Goverment cuts to council spending are ideologically driven, unfair and go too far.

The council’s Labour leadership plans to cut nearly £6m from home-to-school transport funding, £1.5m from libraries, £1.3m from leisure centres and £2m from in-house social care.

With councillors planning to freeze council tax for 2011-12, cuts of £67.1m must be made in the next 12 months, with a further £57.9m following by 2015. Up to 2,000 jobs are expected to be lost.

Home-to-school transport funding would be axed completely for college students.

Secondary school pupils would have to live at least three miles from their school to qualify, rather than the present two miles, and youngsters travelling to faith schools may also have to pay.

Since December, the council has undertaken a consultation on what should be cut, with more than 8,000 people taking part through forums, meetings and surveys. Taxpayers called on the council to protect winter maintenance, road and pavement repairs, adult care services, tackling anti-social behaviour and child protection.

Coun Henig said between the council and Durham Police Authority, all five areas had been addressed.

He said the cuts were extremely difficult, especially as the Government had given councils only weeks to agree their budgets, but insisted there was no “no cuts” option.

“Inevitably, these Government cutbacks will impact on the services we provide, however, we have done our best to respond to residents’ top priorities,” he said.

The proposals will go before the council’s cabinet next Wednesday, before further public consultation is launched. Final decisions will be made at a full council meeting in February.

Proposed cuts

■ Area Action Partnership (AAP) budgets: £420,000
■ Funding for outside bodies: £850,000
■ Councillors’ local budgets: £630,000
■ Gala Theatre, Durham: £120,000
■ Beamish and Bowes museums: £90,000
■ Citizens’ Advice Bureau: £127,000
■ Schools’ music service: £250,000
■ Contracted bus services: £990,000
■ Rural bus services: £320,000

Total cuts by department

■ Assistant chief executive services: £3.7m
■ Adults, wellbeing and health: £34.6m
■ Children and young people’s services: £28.9m
■ Neighbourhood services: £21.1m
■ Regeneration and economic development: £17.9m
■ Resources: £9.3m
■ Other: £9.7m