JOB losses in Bolton's struggling special educational needs service are among hard-hitting budget cuts being considered today. Savings totalling just over £1 million are set out for approval in a paper which proposes a series of cuts affecting virtually every area in the Education and Arts service. At the heart of the proposals is a controversial recommendation to slash £100,000 from the special needs service which could mean the loss of one teacher from every Bolton special school.

This recommendation follows Government guidance pointing local authorities towards mainstream education and away from special school settings.

In the report drawn up by policy development officer Chris Swift, councillors are asked to approve further cuts including a recommendation NOT to approve an extra arts officer and reduce by £3,200 the committee's contribution to the Arts/Entertainment Grants Scheme.

The leisure services committee's has just proposed to end its £8,400 contribution to the scheme in which arts groups bid for cash to develop projects in their community. A further £2,000 will be saved in administering this scheme.

A controversial 10p increase in the price of school meals is also planned. Savings of £40,000 in the primary swimming programme are proposed which could mean job losses.

A further job loss is proposed with the ending of the authority's secondment to the Education Business Partnership based at Bolton Bury TEC. The authority also plans to end support for the summer school which helps primary school children with English language development.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.