SOCIAL services chiefs yesterday made cuts of more than £1m . . . but created 99 jobs.

Mr Steve Gallagher, Director of Social Services, said: "It has been a case of making the very best of a bad job."

He told councillors at a social services committee meeting: "If you give me some loaves and some fishes, I will perform my next trick."

He later explained his reference to the Biblical story of feeding the 5,000 : "It may have been a light-hearted comment, but it has been like that. "We have had to make major reductions, but at the same time, we were determined that we would still carry out some of the major developments to the service."

Twenty two of the jobs are in the "neighbourhood networks" - that is the scheme which allows former long stay patients at mental hospitals to live in their own homes.

Some of the cost of this will be met by a Government grant.

The other jobs are across the range of social services, including social worker posts, home care staff and mental health workers.

As reported last week, there will be no more closures of old people's homes this year. But there will be a cut of £190,000 in the department's nursing home placement budget.

As a result, social services chiefs now fear they will not be able to offer the same level of service for residential and nursing home care.

The effect of this is likely to mean "bed blocking." This means that people who are well enough to leave hospital may have to stay because there is nowhere for them to go.

It is also likely to mean less choice for people over where they go because social services chiefs will buy up cheaper block bookings of places. Among the other reductions are £134,000 on administration and £100,000 on the maintenance of buildings.

Social services chiefs are also hoping that efforts can be made to reduce the department's appalling sickness record which has cost around £1m a year.

They are hoping to bring this down by around £50,000 over the next 12 months.

Already staff are being trained in lifting techniques in a bid to reduce the number of back injuries.

Mr Gallagher described the cuts as: "A major blow to our aspirations for social care in the borough.

"It does involve a serious risk to customers, staff and the organisation of our budget."

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