coalition: wheres the money coming from?

Graham_Devon

Ninky....I'm talking about large scale cuts. The ones labour talk about. The ones they say are putting us back into recession.

Those cuts you mention are small scale very localised cuts which happen under every government.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Graham, as you were told at the time that the cuts were not going to be that bad for most people, then perhaps it would be easier for you to mention which cuts you feel let down about?

Y'know, which cuts were you expecting to cause Armageddon, that's been a bit of a damp squib?

blisk3

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Ninky....I'm talking about large scale cuts. The ones labour talk about. The ones they say are putting us back into recession.

Those cuts you mention are small scale very localised cuts which happen under every government.

The cuts are not small if they affect you.

Thrugelmir

Graham_Devon wrote: »

What cuts do we have left? I mean big ones.

I was listening to Justin King CEO of Sainsburys speak last night. His take is that the public sector has to spend its money better and more efficiently. Make each £ go further. In the same way that a Company does. The inference being that the "Public Sector" isn't accountable for where all the money actually goes. So "cuts" is a misleading expression when its constantly bandied about. As it should be possible to save money merely with proper diligence. The comments weren't made in a political manner, more in the sense of sound financial management.

purch

Nothing seems to be changing

You are so impatient Graham.

It took us 50 years to get into this mess. You can't expect it all to change overnight.

Besides, the new financial year hasn't started yet.

Then the fun will begin :eek:

Loughton_Monkey

I have tried (God knows I've tried) to understand where our Local Authorities spend our money. And heirin, I think, lies one of the problems. Yes, you can find private council tax, business tax, and Central Government Income, and yes you can find outgoings cut down by Education, Social Services etc......

But the 'truth' is missing. For example, we should know by function the headcount, the cost of that headcount, and physical outgoings on building maintenance, expenses, grants to this, grants to that......This is nicely hidden and totally unavailable.

Strangely, you get a bit more details of so-called 'cuts' - see Ninky (above). To take one at random:

* Connexions careers advice service for vulnerable young people reduced by 75 per cent saving £1.64million.

Where on earth could we have ever discovered them setting up careers advice for 'vulnerable' people? What did it cost. What did the 'head' of this earn? £125K probably? When did we ever hear about him/her recruiting 1 deputy head and 4 assistant heads..... Why is the Job Centre not doing its job?.......

What is well known is that over 15 years or so, in Brother Brown's Spend! Spend! Spend! campaign, all this money was thrown at "The Poor" or "The Vulnerable" or "The sick" but actually that money was thrown at managers and staff on inflated salaries and benefits. Ask the 'poor, vulnerable, sick' people and see how less poor, less vulnerable, and less sick they became as a result of all these £Millions.

We all had our bins emptied 5 years ago. We all sent kids to school 5 years ago. We all used the libraries [sorry - 'Learning Resources Centres' because 'Director of Learning Resources' can be paid £150K while a 'Chief Librarian' used to get £55K]. So why not unwind virtually all of this?

Time we really opened up the huge can of worms that is the Local Authority books. Chief Executives must be taken to account on two severe charges. Charge No. 1 - the aboslute reckless spending on unnecessary headcount and pay. Charge No. 2 - the complete failure to unwind this, but instead make savings on core services which were not the reason for over-expenditure in the first place.

I remain convinced that a detailed audit of most councils would make the MP's expenses scandals look like an office worker borrowing the pencil sharpener for his own pencil!

ILW

Normal definition: Vicious violent thugs
Labour definition: The most vunerable members of society.

StevieJ

Thrugelmir wrote: »

I was listening to Justin King CEO of Sainsburys speak last night. His take is that the public sector has to spend its money better and more efficiently. Make each £ go further. In the same way that a Company does. The inference being that the "Public Sector" isn't accountable for where all the money actually goes. So "cuts" is a misleading expression when its constantly bandied about. As it should be possible to save money merely with proper diligence. The comments weren't made in a political manner, more in the sense of sound financial management.

I don't know about anywhere else but our Tory council seem to be splashing the cash, for example :beer:

A £40M theatre on the Little Roodee car park is the most likely option to come out of a feasibility study commissioned by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

TORY -led Cheshire West and Chester Council wants to spend almost £20m buying offices in the new HQ building overlooking the racecourse.

ONE of Chester’s ‘jewels’ - The Groves Riverside promenade – is to undergo extensive refurbishment beginning on January 31.
Delivered in partnership by Cheshire West and Chester Council and Chester Renaissance, the scheme will last 11 weeks and takes place between the Weir and the Suspension Bridge.

michaels

Extra inflation helps - nominal increases whilst still making real terms cuts.

Wookster

ninky wrote: »

here you go.

http://www.touchstoneblog.org.uk/2010/06/cuts-watch-weekly-summary/

also my local authority is facing a massive cut in budget. http://www.haringey.gov.uk/hot_topic_dec_2010.pdf

Actually, the cuts are only taking Haringey back to 2008 in terms of actual spending.

Not exactly horrendous, is it?

I'd wager that the council are going for all the nasty cuts (i.e. children, youths & the elderly most affected) to get the maximum publicity against those nasty Tories who cut ideologically.