Swingeing cuts passed by Conservative-controlled Somerset County Council (SCC) will hit local people hard and are a false economy, said Frome’s Green Party county councillors this week.
Last week, after a much-criticised process, SCC agreed cuts of £11.4million, with potentially more service cutbacks amounting to millions of pounds over the next few years.
Martin Dimery SCC Green councillor, who opposed the cuts along with his Green councillor colleague, John Clarke, said, “These cuts will impact across all sections of our community; young and old, disabled, children with additional needs, the most disadvantaged. They are a sticking plaster to a failing non-sustainable council.
“They will lead to even more hardship for those families, children and people already vulnerable and to an increase in demand on overstretched services in the future. They are a false economy.”
Martin Dimery and John Clarke are pledging to fight any future cuts.
The cuts include the loss of 130 jobs, reductions in early years’ family support, cutting Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) funding to road gritting and cancellation of flood prevention schemes. However, young carers’ services were given a reprieve after fierce opposition.
John Clarke SCC Green councillor said, “We have been told there has been no choice, we have to live within our means. This is a lie. The Conservative-led council took the choice not to stand up to their political masters. They chose not to say to the Tory government, ‘enough is enough; we are here to serve Somerset residents, not political dogma and central government.’ They chose this road – the road to bankruptcy and slashing of public services.”
The CAB, which has an office in Frome, has calculated the overall public value of their service in Somerset at almost £30million. It says a large part of this are savings made directly and indirectly by SCC. At the budget-cutting meeting in Taunton, Somerset Conservative councillors spoke of not funding non-statutory services such as CAB and young carers’ support.
Opposition councillors and community groups attribute the cutbacks to the Conservative council decisions, especially implementing the government’s austerity programme, and freezing of council tax which led to loss of income of £114million over five years.
A statement from the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government in response to the Somerset County Council decision said “Local authorities are responsible for their own funding decisions.” Government funding to SCC will reduce to £9million next year, a reduction of over £81million since 2013. According to the National Audit Office, there has been a 49% real term reduction in government funding for local authorities in the last six years. One of the pressures on SCC has been in children’s services where despite an increase in the current year budget of £5million, they have projected an overspend of £11million.
John Clarke and Martin Dimery said, “It is really hard, but for the sake of our communities we must fight back and do all we can to resist future cuts. We will use every opportunity to highlight the harsh realities of this council’s decisions and speak up for the people we represent.”
They are proposing alternatives – demanding government restore funding to a realistic level, seek a review of how councils can use capital assets (which currently cannot be used for services); lobby for a precept for children’s services as is in place for adult services; remove the cap imposed by government on council tax giving local authorities real control over their ability to raise income.
The councillors are also proposing asking the people of Somerset if they would be prepared to pay more council tax over the next three years to protect services.
John Clarke said, “ People may ask what next? There is a real threat of bankruptcy. We may need to follow the example of Northamptonshire who sold their town hall and raised an income of £42million as a result.”
