City news in 250 words: Thursday 13 January

MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL JOB CUTS: About 2,000 jobs are expected to go at Manchester City Council due to government spending cuts. The workforce needs to be reduced by 17 per cent, the authority has said. The cuts follow changes to local authority grants which left a huge hole in the Labour-run council’s finances. Staff are being asked to consider voluntary redundancy or, for those aged over 55, early retirement.

TAKE THAT CONFERENCE AT UNI: The reformed boyband are the topic for an academic debate at Salford University in June. The two-day event will analyse the reunion of the band members, one week after the group's stadium tour begins. Leader of the conference, Tim Wise said: "A lot of interest is focused on Take That, and so we thought it right to investigate this phenomenon.”

MANCHESTER SCHOOLS WORST FOR ABSENTEEISM: Manchester Creative and Media Academy for Boys in Moston, Manchester Health Academy in Wythenshawe, Manchester Enterprise Academy also in Wythenshawe and Plant Hill Arts College in Blackley are among ten schools in England with the worst absenteeism record. The figures come from school performance tables published by the Department for Education.

UNI HALLS RAPIST STARTS LIFE SENTENCE: Paul Atta, 37, broke into two separate halls of residence flats in Rusholme last July and attacked two women, telling one of his victims "Would you rather get stabbed or have sex with me?" He was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday and must now serve at least 12 years before being eligible for parole.