COUNCILLORS have demanded more information on plans to cut community services to claw back more than £12 million in savings.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council admitted last month that its community services directorate has failed to reach its savings target of £3.5 million for this year.

The authority now has to find £11.2 million of savings in the next two years to keep the three-year strategy on track, and meet almost £900,000 in additional costs from the credit crunch and the new single status pay scheme for staff.

Members of the council's improving communities overview and scrutiny committee heard yesterday that community services is now expected to overspend by £2.85 million by April.

Figures show that £2 million of the overspend will occur in the department's neighbourhood services section, while the other £742,000 falls within the citywide services budget.

A breakdown revealed that some predicted savings had not been met at all, while others will only be partially achievable and a number are still under review.

Council finance officer Lloyd Haynes told members: "A recovery plan has been put together to identify possible savings and it is being put forward to the executive and members' board (EMB) for political support.

"There will be a report to the overview and scrutiny management committee just before Christmas and the detail will come to the scrutiny committee in January before approval on February 26."

But committee vice-chairman councillor Randolph Conteh warned that ordinary councillors may not back the council's recovery plan.

He said: "I have seen some of the devil that is in the detail of these proposed savings.

"We need that report to come here, to this committee, so that we can discuss the details of some of these proposed savings.

"Other members have not seen the detail I have seen, but I know hand-on-heart that this commission won't support certain recommendations that are going to the EMB."

Committee chairman councillor Dave Conway, pictured, said: "I did say last year that we needed to discuss things in more detail, and I think we got half a side of A4 paper.

"I shall throw it out if the same thing happens again this year."

He added: "We are holding a special meeting on this in January and I shall expect a full report to be provided at that meeting."

The panel's comments come as Libertarian Lib-Dem councillor Gavin Webb is calling for an independent investigation into the council's budget.

He has asked local government watchdog The Taxpayers' Alliance to scrutinise the authority's accounts and check that public money has not been squandered.

Mr Webb is due to put his request to the next full council meeting on Thursday.

He said: "If we are to see real value for money all future budget considerations must be done as publicly as possible.

"I hope the council will support my call to invite the Taxpayers' Alliance to scrutinise the city's finances."