A HUNDRED council jobs have been axed in the last six months – but non-teaching staff have risen.

The head count among directly employed Buckinghamshire County Council staff is down from 4,157 at the end of September to 4,057 this month.

Yet the number of schools staff rose from 11,298 to 11,396.

A council report says: “There has been an increase in the staffing numbers in schools, in particular for non-teaching Bucks pay staff.”

Schools control their own recruitment, it says. The council is slashing hundreds of jobs to close a financial black hole.

Annette Pryce, Bucks secretary for the National Union of Teachers, said: “We need support staff as much as we need teachers.

“I don’t think there is enough money spent on teachers, especially in the south of the county.”

About 500 jobs are expected to go in coming years.

The Conservative-controlled authority says it is under-funded.

Councillor Frank Downes, cabinet member for resources, said: “We are taking posts out – not just re-deploying people.”

He said: “If we are going to make £22m savings in three years then clearly it is more than this.”

He said £3.4m of savings had been identified and bosses ‘accelerating the progress’.

The Unison union was unavailable for comment.

The council is under-taking a ‘transformation’ programme to change working practices and job roles to save cash.

Posts axed under this year’s budget include youth workers, footpaths and history staff.

Bosses last month admitted they had employed too many managers. Latest figures show the total bosses earning more than £150,000 rose by a fifth in one year (see links below).