General Chat

Our council has just announced plans to cut services massively. We are having our library hours cut hugely and may lose it completely next year but are told we must be prepared to go to some of the other libraries.
How? When we have no public transport that will take us anywhere where there is one - and we are likely to lose our little bus anyway.
From our village there is no way of getting to our county town or any of the larger towns by public transport without huge detours via other counties!

So - no bus, no loos, no library - what next - no shops?

Which county?

West Berks.

I missed out the Lollypop lady - who helps the little ones across a very busy road.

This is happening everywhere now. In Rhondda we are planned to lose more than half our Libraries and half our day centres in next 12 months. Still got free buses, but for how long? Think we will be left with 11 libraries for the whole county of Rhondda Cynon Taff (which as you can tell from county name covers 3 sizeable river valleys with a population of 250,000 approx.)

And shopping centres are now pretty well rubbish because Asda and Morrisons and now JS have sucked the trade out of the valley towns.

Where is a Jack Jones when you need him? Lot of votes in looking after the grey vote.

Cuts to many things that most of us took for granted are being implemented in many areas throughout the country, local transport subsidies, libraries, school crossing patrols, public toilets, youth clubs, care services, road & pavement maintenance, to name but a few :-(

I doubt if any of the cuts will affect the six figure salaries of these top earners at West Berkshire Council ;-)

Chief Executive of the Council - salary = £158,698
Children & Young People Director - salary = £120,556.
Environment Director - salary = £120,357
Corporate Director for Community Services - salary = £112,380.

You know what they say - we are all in it together :-S

Yes ,But What OFiTG.? The Dodoo I expect.

I sometimes think its the way Councils spend their budget. Since the 'cutbacks' our library has increased its opening hours and is now open into the evening on one day a week. Our public toilets are spotless and free to use and the council even found several thousand pounds to spend on flowers for Britain in Bloom. As far as shopping is concerned many towns are dying because we, yes we don't use them. The shops where I live have posters in the windows 'Use us or Lose Us' but still many of my friends zoom off to the out of town shopping park

Our ncil tred to close. Lot of our lbraries, in fact some went over to being voluntary run, including the one in our village which is now very successful. However they were challenged over the closures because I think there is a law that should prevent closure. Can't remember the details you'd need to look it up.

How sad. Many councils are now having to make drastic cuts to their services, and that is thanks to the government reducing the amout they receive each year from the central fund. And add to that the extra funds councils now have to find to put people/families into 'temporary' accomodation as the government has cut housing benefit etc.

No wonder many councils across the country who have not raised their council taxess for some years are now going to raise theirs next year.

Austerity measures for those who least need them and plenty for the rich.....

Come the revolution I know who I will vote to be shot!! :-D

Kent CC is planning to raise the Council Tax by 2% next year which isn't surprising considering that it hasn’t gone up for a couple of years. Aside from the normal services that Councils are expected to provide, they also have to cope with ‘looked after’ children and other illegal migrants found on the backs of Lorries etc at the Ports with little or no funding extra from central government.
………….
Kent County Council faces a huge shortfall of £273 million over the next three years, with the expected loss of hundreds more jobs and outsourcing of services.

http://goo.gl/cn1VM7

Living in rural areas on a low income is no longer really an option.
One fine day when it is too late the extinction of homo solitus in the Engish countryside will be seen as a very bad thing.

If this is the way things are going, eventually there will come a time when councils have no money at all.

In that case, wouldnt it be better if things were outsourced gradually, so that in the meantime there would be less suffering for the people affected by the cuts.

Think this is what the government want. Not to say i agree with it.

I am sure, in all this austerity in Councils, that the public servants are still getting good increases and good pension pots. Not those who go home after a solid days work for their communities and a clear conscience - those who spend all day in meetings, and sending memos and emails. And have "Manager" or "Co-Ordinator" in job title.

I am sure, in all this austerity in Councils, that the County Councillors are not fewer, that they are getting paid exceptionally well and have loads of expenses to put cream on their jam.

I am sure, in all this austerity in Councils, that the potholes are not being filled, that the rubbish is not being collected, that the street lights are not working, that the old and the disabled in our communities will suffer most.

From my book "History of Local Government 1946-2014" by John Cocoa ;-)