UNIONS have warned that the most vulnerable will be “hit the hardest” in £25 million of looming council cuts.

It has been claimed that key services for children, the elderly and residents with learning disabilities will suffer in money-saving changes in the upcoming Brighton and Hove City Council budget.

Union leaders have warned that job losses are likely to exceed the 300 posts deleted in the council’s moves to save £24 million from this year’s budget.

They have also warned that an “unprecedented” £8 million overspend will lead to even more intensive cuts if they cannot be reduced before the end of the financial year.

Union bosses say concrete proposals remain unusually thin on the ground at this stage in proceedings as department bosses keep their cards close to their chests.

But night social care services and animal welfare teams are rumoured to be at risk of being disbanded altogether and children’s centres are said to be in the firing line again just 12 months after being saved.

Every department is being asked to find cuts of between 10 and 15 per cent despite warnings they have very little fat left to trim.

Council leader Warren Morgan told The Argus earlier this year that the multi-million pound savings would have to come through more "salami slicing" as the authority was not in a position to make more revolutionary reforms.

One of the services deemed most at risk by unions is the independence at home service offering support for the elderly and vulnerable in their own homes.

Proposals would see the night team of the service of 15 staff disbanded in December with the remaining 90 team members considered at risk from further cuts.

Objectors to the proposals, which were discussed at a meeting last night, said the loss of the service would increase bed blocking at local hospitals and hospital readmissions.

Unions warned that savings made in council budgets could mean increase costs for health services which indicated a lack of “joined up thinking” between local authorities and health services at a time when an increasing amount of funding for social services was coming from health budgets.

Without the service provided by 15 staff making up to six calls a night elderly residents would be put to bed at 6pm by the day team, union figures claimed.

They also warned that with a shortage of vacancies, redeployment of at-risk staff elsewhere in the council would be difficult to achieve.

Sue Beatty, Unison’s adult social convenor, said: “We appreciate that we are living in difficult times, these cuts are unprecedented compared even to the Thatcher years, and difficult choices have to be made.

“But I don’t think we should be making cuts to the most vulnerable in the city.

“If we cannot provide for them, then something is very wrong with us.

“The most vulnerable people are being hit the hardest.”

Unions said learning disability day services, which was subject to review during the last budget process, is at risk of being outsourced to a non-profit or corporate provider.

The changes would affect hundreds of members of staff and unions warn would leave service users with learning disabilities confined to residential care all day.

GMB organiser Mark Turner said the high levels of overspend in the council would make the budget setting process more painful.

He said: “They will need to get the £8 million overspend down otherwise it’s going to cause even more problems.

“Those cuts of £25 million, if you’ve got that plus £8 million, then you’re talking of cuts of plus £30 million.

“They are making some inroads with recruitment freezes but £8 million is unprecedented at this stage of the year.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “ We're not able to comment on speculation. "All spending proposals will be published and debated in public in due course.

“Clearly, there’s a challenge but we'll be striving to provide good services at the same time as having to cut £68m from our budget in the next four years.

"This is the result of reduced government funding to councils and rising costs.”

A budget policy and resources committee meeting will be held on December 3.