OPPOSITION councillors have complained about a lack of advance warning of plans by Devon County Council to shed 500 jobs.

A controversial recruitment freeze and sweeping cuts to care home staff  were on the agenda yesterday at the most significant cabinet meeting since the Conservatives won control of the authority in June.

As the Echo has previously reported, the council wants to reduce its head count by around 500 posts as it seeks to save £20m over two years, initially by not replacing staff who leave non-critical roles.

But plans under consideration also include the possibility of compulsory redundancies within three years.

And the authority is shaking up care homes in a bid to make services more efficient. So far, 70 posts have not been renewed and around 130 more are due to be shed.

Opposition councillors yesterday opted to put off a full  debate on the proposals until the views of those affected are collected during the consultation period.

But Liberal Democrat Brian Greenslade, who led the council for 16  years until the June elections, complained that he first heard about the proposals via the press.

He accepted that the council had to take measures to combat the fall-out of the  recession, when the authority expects to have around £50m  wiped off its budget.

But he urged the cabinet to engage with a  personnel partnership, involving members and officers, before  pressing ahead with consultation. However, Heather Barnes, executive director of corporate  resources, warned that such a move was not normal practice, and  that it would be “dangerous” to start on an issue involving efficiency  savings.

The care homes proposal would mean a saving of £5m in three years, and an investment of £735,000 to ensure the  properties are fit for purpose. There is also a proposal to make up  to 18 redundancies  — mainly in management — in the field of adult  and community learning, to combat a projected overspend of  £400,000.

Cllr Greenslade appealed to council leader John Hart to bring the issue back to  cabinet after consultation, instead of delegating the decision to  cabinet member Councillor Stuart Barker.

Both items were approved to proceed to full consultation.

The council also opted to press ahead with stopping financial  support for links with Baranya, a region of Hungary and Croatia,  and pulling out of the Assembly of European Regions, previously  dismissed by Cllr Hart as a “talking shop”.

The authority also pledged £50,000 towards Plymouth’s bid to be a venue for World Cup football in 2018 if England hosts the tournament.

Cllr Hart said the investment was “comparatively  modest” and could generate returns of up to £150m for the county.

As the Echo has previously reported, the bid could see Exeter City’s facilities used as a training camp by a competing nation and ‘Fringe Fanfests’ taking place in the city and Exmouth.