LOCAL government union Unison have planned a mass meeting at Hereford Town Hall from 12.30pm today and a protest at the full council meeting on May 24.

Unison regional secretary Ravi Subramanian said the council has “serious questions to answer” over its budget setting.

“It only set its budget in February this year but is now saying it has to find an extra £8m savings.

“What has gone wrong in the last three months?

“The news that over 320 more jobs are to go over the next two years at Herefordshire Council, in addition to the 280 jobs that have already been lost since 2010, is devastating.

“Saving £32m over the next three years could be catastrophic for services”.

This comes following the news this week that Herefordshire Council is to shed 300 jobs and responsibility for the likes of libraries and museums as it covers the cost of a 2013/14 savings plan that did not add up.

For more on this story, see this week's Hereford Times, out today.