County Hall cuts 'U-turn'
POLITICIANS at Notts County Council have made a U-turn on controversial budget proposals.
They now plan to spend more on gritting, while money for many community transport schemes is to continue in the next financial year.
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'LISTENED': Coun Kay Cutts
Coun Mel Shepherd, cabinet member for adults, social care and health, also said the planned sale of the council's 13 residential care homes was unlikely to be carried out in the next financial year.
The authority says it has up to £4.6m more to spend after its original £33.3m planned cuts dropped to £28.7m.
The proposed changes, expected to be agreed by the council's cabinet next month, include:
Only £144,000 being cut from the Dukeries and the Sutton Centre budgets next year, rather than double that amount
Meals of Wheels price increases going from £2.35 to £3 – not £3.95, as originally planned
More cash being spent on services to rehabilitate older people who suffer a fall. This is expected to save £700,000
Up to £250,000 to be spent on community transport schemes – which support up to 3,000 people who cannot use public transport – will remain next year
Up to £50,000 more to be spent on gritting. The council had already looked to spend less by purchasing 6mm salt rather than 10mm. It will now buy even more 6mm salt
Up to £560,000 handed out to district and borough councils to collect waste will remain.
Council leader Coun Kay Cutts said: "I think these proposals are the right thing to do.
"We have listened to people. This is a genuine consultation. I have been interested to what people have had to say.
"We remain committed to ensuring that the county council is financially sustainable.
"We have responded early to the consultation as there have been clear and emerging themes. There are a number of proposals that immediately make sense."
The extra £4.6m of revenue, which the council no longer has to save, has been put down to the following:
A decision to use underspends to fund a £1m shortfall for the Building Schools for the Future initiative
An anticipated £1.5m growth in the amount of council tax collected next year
Cuts to a grant from the Government being £300,000 less severe than expected
£1.8m in savings because of the public sector pay freeze
The council's consultation is set to close on Friday.
It has had 2,086 responses so far – and more than 3,80 signatures have been submitted in petitions.
Labour leader Coun Alan Rhodes said: "We are delighted that their swingeing cuts in these services have now been rescinded. We would urge them to look further at some of the other services that are still under threat."
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by J, Notts
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 11:04PM
“This "U turn" won't be a surprise to many. It's the usual politicians trick. Announce bad news. Then say you won't make as many cuts as you first said so you can say you listened and have saved services.
Lots of vulnerable and hard up people are still going to see massive changes to their quality of life as charges go up and services go down.”
by Mr. Sensible, The Real World
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 9:54PM
“Equaliser, as Voice of the People has said those sorts of people exist in the private sector too.
"Even labour realise they need to cut public spending although I doubt they have the guts to do it."
Errmmmmmmmmmm:
As I have told you time and again.
If we really need to make cuts, we cannot afford to freeze council tax, we cannot afford to spend double the cost of supporting the tram on withdrawing from it, as Richard Jackson himself admitted, and we cannot afford the mad proposal for a married couples allowance.
If they can afford that, they can afford to keep the services.
If they can't afford to keep the services, they cannot afford that.
Simple as!”
by Voice of the People, Everywhere!
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 9:20PM
“Be wary Equalizer. As one who is currently being forced to prostitute themselves to the capitalist machinery of the world (the private sector), but with public sector experience under my belt, my conclusion is this:
Private sector.. Public sector.. both have an equal amount of malingerers and hard workers. The difference is that in the public sector, no-one really bothered to hide the fact that they were having an 'in house' lazy day, whereas in the private sector, the same types are very adept at 'in house' 'networking' and 'brainstorming sessions' i.e. gossiping away and not doing much.
It's fashionable to knock the public sector during a recession, always has been the case and always will be. But both private and public sector are reasonably equal when it comes to hard workers and lazy people. The only major difference is that EVERYONE in the public sector gets bashed, whereas EVERYONE in the private sector is held up as some kind of paragon of virtuous diligence.”
by Stumpy, The Hollows
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 7:58PM
“I had a maiden Aunt who looked a lot like the woman at the top of this article.
She bought her clothing from Jumble Sales too.”
by The Equaliser, NOTTINGRAD
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 7:46PM
“Sensible . . .
Sadly the Professions you mention have an awful lot of malingerers and time servers in their ranks.
Not particularly the front-line boys and girlss but the upper echelons of management.
All the Services have them.
I've seen some even on the front line passing the time of day in a haze of fag breaks and tea breaks when they should have been on the job.
For every dedicated nurse or policeman there are a host work-avoiders.”