‘Govt must end this damage’ call

The Local Government’s Association’s (LGA) recent warning that there is a gaping £8bn hole in council budgets has been endorsed by Unite.

“The cuts in local council funding are changing the nature of society,” believes Unite national officer for local authorities Jim Kennedy.

He said, “We are witnessing constant cuts to essential services which affect the most vulnerable in society such as the very young and the elderly.

“Up and down the country local communities are seeing the closure of libraries, swimming pools and parks amongst many other much needed amenities, as a direct result of councils being continuously forced into slashing budgets.

“These cuts and closures are changing the fabric of local communities.”

The largest cuts in council funding have been in Labour local authorities which have seen an average fall of ÂŁ500 per head while for Conservative areas the decline is just ÂŁ115, nearly four times lower.

For example between 2011/12 and 2019/20 the Labour controlled London borough of Hackney has seen its spending power reduced by ÂŁ1406.11 while Conservative controlled Wokingham council has during the same period seen its spending power actually increase by ÂŁ39.31.

Kennedy continued, “The closures and cuts in opening times of much needed facilities are resulting in people’s lives becoming more difficult and more miserable.

“The government needs to take an urgent reality check and properly examine the effects that council cuts have had on society. It needs to stop the further planned cuts in funding and reverse the damage it has already done.”