A £1 MILLION scheme to merge Ryedale and Hambleton District Council services has sparked redundancy fears among workers.

The pilot scheme is the first of its kind nationally, and aims to cut costs by combining the collection of council tax and business rates, as well as the payment of benefits, for both authorities.

Ryedale councillors will vote tomorrow night on whether or not to approve the plan.

The Unison branch secretary at Ryedale House, Paul Hunt, said there was concern over possible job cuts, but he hadn't yet seen figures or proposed structures.

"Staff are involved in discussions through the union," he said. "Nobody's officially told us how many jobs, but there are always going to be jobs at risk in this kind of situation, obviously we hope there will be none."

He added: "Ultimately, it's up to councillors, it's their decision. If, having looked at the facts, they go ahead, we will be trying to protect staff and make sure they get the best possible arrangement if they are transferred."

The council's chief financial officer, Trevor Teasdale, told the Gazette & Herald that it was too early to say at this stage whether the proposal would mean job losses.

"The proposals haven't been ratified yet," he said. "It is much too early to say if there will be redundancies here or in Hambleton, both or none, but nothing will happen before the council meeting."

The proposal has been referred to a working party, and will be discussed at a full council meeting tomorrow night.

The plan is the brainchild of the Department of Work and Pensions' Centre of Excellence, which has awarded £685,000 to the project. Each of the two councils will contribute £141,000 to make up the total cost of £967,000. It will take almost three years for the costs of the scheme to be recovered.

When the scheme was discussed at a meeting of the council's policy and resources committee earlier this month, Coun Paul Andrews said: "I'm most unhappy about this. We're seeing for a saving of £161,000 almost £1 million being spent and I think the money from the Government is a huge bribe to make us part of a larger authority which is part of regionalisation, which I thought this council was against."

Updated: 15:46 Wednesday, February 15, 2006