This in from Cllr Geoff Lumley on behalf of Isle of Wight Labour councillors. Ed
With reference to the IW Council leadership’s announcement of the need for ‘radical and painful’ cuts in services. Cuts we know they do not want to impose.
As Labour councillors we will continue to do everything possible to defend our local communities and protect those who rely on public services.
Government cuts tearing apart local communities
The Conservative Government’s cuts to funding for local councils are tearing apart the fabric of our local communities. Older and vulnerable people will no longer get the care they need and deserve, housing advice services are at risk, youth services have been reduced, subsidised rural bus services have been slashed, and local communities are losing the tools for economic growth.
The Government’s cuts are ideologically driven, unfairly distributed, and are putting pressure on all other public services. The Government responsible for reducing funding to such intolerable levels is now attempting to lay the blame at the feet of local councillors.
Shrinking the state
The Conservative cuts to council budgets are not primarily intended to reduce the deficit. Instead, they demonstrate the Tories’ ideological plan to shrink the state. While they have cut councils’ funding by 40% they have cut taxes for the wealthiest.
Funding cuts have hurt those most in need. In March 2015 the Institute for Fiscal Studies assessed the impact of the austerity measures ordered by the Government and found that that the poorest areas are being cut much more deeply than wealthier areas.
The Island a deprived area
The 10 most deprived local authority areas have lost £782 per household while the 10 wealthiest areas lost just £48 per household. The Island is nearer the top end at around £700 per household.
The Government have closed their eyes to the damage they are causing to communities. Earlier this year the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee’s report into local government cuts said:
“Value for money could be undermined by reductions in spending which lead to ‘cost-shunting’ between local government and other service providers – for example, reductions in social care provision leading to bed blocking in NHS hospitals.”
Wilful ignorance
Even the Prime Minister displayed wilful ignorance of his own policies when he complained to his local council about service cuts.
Cuts to local government are an attempt by the Conservative government to push the blame for cuts down to local councils while dismantling the welfare state. Their forced sale of housing association homes – without funding replacements – further demonstrates their strategy to abdicate responsibility for the worst decisions they are making.
Bring unfair cuts to an end
It is time to bring unfair cuts to an end and to set up fair and sustainable funding for local communities and the services they rely on.
Labour at every level opposes unfair cuts to local councils, recognises the value to communities of high quality public services and will always seek to protect services that help make society fairer and protect vulnerable people.
We await with interest the response of the Island’s Conservatives to their Government’s latest round of funding cuts.
Cllrs Geoff Lumley and Alan Hollands
Newport East & Lake North
