Cuts: are we getting a raw deal?

by Paul Roberts

www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk

The cuts have begun and already there is talk of a ‘winter of discontent’ with strike action and protests sweeping the UK.

Local authorities are slashing budgets and the axe is about to fall on tens of thousands of public service jobs. There are fears that as many as 50,000 public service jobs could be lost in Scotland alone. Social services leaders are warning that some councils in the UK are considering cuts of up to 40% to adult services.

The outlook is grim and my worry is that the ‘race’ to cut budgets is being carried out with too little regard being given to the consequences.

Our new Coalition Government appears to be obsessed with announcing and making cuts – to the point where gloom and despondency are the order of the day. We all know it is easy to make substantial savings quickly. It is much harder to ensure the right decisions are made and the implications of those decisions are fully considered.

It is fine to say that ‘we all face uncomfortable times’. But how can we be sure that the Government and councils are being fair and reasonable in making swingeing cutbacks?

One local authority – Leicester City Council – has agreed to sack 1,000 workers over the next four years to make £100 million in savings. The same council is planning to buy Apple iPads for its 54 councillors at a cost of £40,000.

Conservative-run Buckinghamshire County Council is cutting its education and social services programmes by more than £5 million – but has avoided cuts in road maintenance. In Derbyshire, people with ‘moderate’ care needs are being excluded from adult care support in a bid to save £4 million.

So this is how we are tackling the public spending crisis. No wonder public alarm is growing.