{"id":4404,"date":"2015-06-05T15:44:45","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T14:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=4404"},"modified":"2015-06-08T16:11:52","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T15:11:52","slug":"tip-of-the-iceberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=4404","title":{"rendered":"Tip of the iceberg"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The newly elected Tory government has wasted no time in implementing its latest dose of austerity, with chancellor George Osborne putting forward \u00c2\u01413bn in spending cuts yesterday (June 4), which are to be made in the next financial year.<\/p>\n

 
\nIn a shock move, the chancellor has fast tracked the cuts even before the emergency budget he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s called a month from now on July 8.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe cuts are as deep as they are wide \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the only areas which have been ring-fenced from cuts are the NHS, foreign aid and the schools budget.<\/p>\n

 
\nWhere the axe will fall<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nThe Department of Education will be forced to shave \u00c2\u0141450m, which, because schools are protected, will mean that sixth-form colleges are threatened, and certain child services could be cut, including the protection of children at risk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to the Independent, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdoubts have grown on childcare funding\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, just months after the Tories pledged to double free childcare provision as one of their central promises to the electorate.<\/p>\n

 
\nAlthough the NHS is protected from spending cuts, a jaw-dropping \u00c2\u0141200m will be slashed from public health grants to local authorities. These cuts will hobble local authorities\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ability to tackle central public health issues such as childhood obesity, smoking, substance abuse and sexual health provision.<\/p>\n

 
\nA British Medical Journal article<\/a> from earlier this year shined a light on how public health funding has already been decimated after responsibility for public health was transferred from the NHS to local authorities last year.<\/p>\n

 
\nAnother government department that will see deep cuts is the department of Business, Innovations and Skills. According to the Guardian<\/a>, the cuts will be made to areas in the department that have \u00e2\u20ac\u015balready been hit hard\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, including funding to further and higher education, with further education to be left most exposed to cuts.<\/p>\n

 
\nEarlier this year<\/a>, the Association of Colleges said that the cuts adult education has already endured over the last five years, will mean that, if future cuts go through, \u00e2\u20ac\u015badult education and training in England will not exist by 2020.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nThe department of Work and Pensions will have to shave a further \u00c2\u0141105m to their budget, after already having made \u00c2\u01412bn in savings in 2009-10 and 2014-15.<\/p>\n

 
\nOne arena in which the DWP hopes to make \u00e2\u20ac\u015befficiency savings\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 is by giving the department more powers to recover debt after granting loans to benefits claimants who are deemed to be in a crisis situation.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe selling off of the remaining 30 per cent stake that the government held in the Royal Mail, which now completely privatises the mail delivery service, will, Osborne contends, raise \u00c2\u01411.5bn.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe sell-off, which was announced yesterday, was met by broad criticism, including from Unite.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSelling off the last remnants of the family silver to pay for self-defeating austerity will further undermine the future of the universal postal service,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 argued Unite officer Brian Scott, who represents Royal Mail managers.<\/p>\n

 
\nOnly the beginning<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nThe Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has again come out against the way the government has presented austerity cuts to the public, arguing that Osborne has misled the public<\/a> over the drastic cuts to be made if the government is to meet its goal of eliminating the deficit by 2018-19.<\/p>\n

 
\nIFS deputy director Carl Emmerson noted that since the government has pledged to ring-fence the NHS, school spending and overseas development, other departments would, over the next five years, have to face deep \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and deeply unpopular cuts.<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary Steve Turner agreed that these cuts are just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOsborne\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s salami slicing of essential public services is only the beginning of what we can expect from this austerity-crazed Tory government,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe chancellor says this is all part of their \u00e2\u20ac\u0098long-term economic plan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but these cuts now being rushed through are incredibly short-sighted and will spell pain for not only the most vulnerable but for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen we look at what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s being cut we see exactly how the Tories seek to undermine the public\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s will by making massively unpopular cuts through the backdoor,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner went on to say. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ring-fenced the NHS budget, but they slash \u00c2\u0141200m in grants to local authorities for public health. They ring-fence the budget for schools, but then they make cuts that threaten essential children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s services, including protection for children at risk.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instead of passive acceptance in the face of unprecedented cuts, Turner called for solidarity and action.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow is the time for everyone who is affected by public spending cuts \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and over the term of this government, this will literally mean everyone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to come together in concerted opposition to ideological austerity. Our future, and our children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future, depends on it.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Come join Unite and campaign groups from across the country on June 20 for the People\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Assembly anti-austerity demo. Find out more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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