Manchester council chiefs have drawn up plans for £37m of cuts by 2013.

A financial plan drawn up by officers warns that the economic crisis will make the next three years among the most challenging the city has ever faced.

The council plans to save £16.3m in the next financial year alone, with savings of £14.1m in 2011/12, and £6.7m in 2012/13.

Each town hall department has been ordered to prepare a series of savings on the assumption the amount of cash coming from government will be frozen at current levels.

At the same time, spending pressures will continue to rise – meaning savings will have to be found.

The proposed cuts include:

• £2.8m savings achieved by placing more foster children with parents in Manchester – lessening the need for expensive placements in care homes
• £1.8m on staffing costs in social services, including a ‘robust’ approach to sickness absence.
• A £2.4m ‘re-enablement’ programme – aiming to get elderly and sick adults back on their feet to prevent them needing long-term care.
• £345,000 through a staffing ‘restructure’ at Central Library in 2012/13.

It is understood the ‘re-enablement’ programme will focus on providing the elderly with help with exercise and other treatment to lessen their dependence on expensive long-term ‘at-home’ care.

Details of the sickness absence crackdown in social services have yet to be drawn up – although it emerged last year that the average town hall worker in Manchester was off work ill for 11.8 days every year.

The leisure department also wants to cut £24,000 worth of funding for the city-centre skate park – potentially reducing opening hours in a move bosses admit would be ‘contentious’ with ‘political consequences’.

The planned cuts are detailed in a new ‘medium-term financial strategy’.

It states: “Recent changes in the global economy mean that the next three years will be some of the most challenging we have ever faced as an organisation and we must meet these challenges by transforming the council and the outcome will be an organisation with the capacity to deliver better outcomes for Manchester at lower cost – better for less.”

A covering report by chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein makes it clear that current government debt-levels mean cuts are likely whichever party wins this year's general election.

It says: “What is known is that the level of government borrowing after the bail out of the banking system and the Bank of England’s 'quantative easing' has left any future government with little option but to seek ways to reduce current borrowing levels.

“This is likely to be through either a severe reduction in government spend or the raising of additional taxes (probably both).

“All major parties have already indicated that local government settlements going forward will be significantly tighter than in recent years.”

Bernard Priest, the council's executive member for finance and human resources said: ”In this year’s budget we are committed to improving services for all Manchester residents and it is important that we seek to do this at a lower cost to the city’s council tax payer without affecting the quality of the service. I am confident that our budget will not only improve services but will reduce costs as well.”