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£100m: Full extent of council cutbacks revealed

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Published Date:
31 July 2010
COUNCIL spending in Calderdale will have to be slashed by more than £100 million over the next three years.
And it will only be achieved by massive reorganisation, service cuts and job losses, councillors have been warned.

The staggering figure is equivalent to what the council will spend during the whole of this year on adult health and social care, ch
ildren and young people's services.

It was spelled out at a special meeting of councillors who have decided they want RESIDENTS to decide where the axe should fall.

A massive public consultation exercise will get under way in the next few weeks and talks will be held with staff, businesses, voluntary and statutory organisations.

Calderdale Council Liberal Democrat leader Janet Battye said "Doing things differently is part of the solution.

"But we also need to make some fundamental decisions about the services we must provide, the services we should provide and those we won't provide in the future."

Councillor Battye (Calder) said it was hoped to come up with concrete proposals by the end of November to incorporate into the 2011/12 budget.

Ian Cooper (Todmorden) for the Conservatives said: "This exercise should be as much about providing better services for less money as about making swingeing cuts."

Labour's Barry Collins (Illingworth and Mixenden) said: "If the Government is crazy enough to push things through at this scale and this speed, there is a risk of a total disaster for the people of Calderdale. We must do everything possible to protect the most vital services."

The council's chief accountant Nigel Broadbent said a freeze in pay and superannuation contributions, and changes to National Insurance could financially benefit the council. But they were a drop in the ocean compared to the £22.3 million which would have to be saved next year, £33.3 million in 2012 and £50.2 million which is was predicted would have to be saved from a budget of £266 million in 2013.

Public meetings will be held in all 17 electoral wards beginning in September and there will be questionnaires and surveys.

The council has agreed no suggestions for saving money will be ruled out at this stage as they try to find out what really matters to people.
An attempt will be made to identify the impact of any decisions on the economy, the environment, equality and fairness.

In the meantime, as a result of reductions in Government grants which have already been announced, the council has agreed to reduce capital and revenue spending on related services this year by at least £7 million.



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  • Last Updated: 30 July 2010 4:21 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Halifax
 
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Wards End Cat,

31/07/2010 08:38:46
If they're asking for ideas as to where to start chopping, then I'd say AT THE TOP. Reduce the number of managers, reduce expenses for councillors, put a cap on pensions & redundancies to equal those of the working person in the private sector. Get rid of overpaid Consultants, stop the guy leaning on his shovel & the other three backing him up offering advice as a job progresses at a snails pace. That's just for starters, easy peasy.
2

Peter Avinou,

31/07/2010 09:26:28
I cannot see the slightest chance of making saving of this magnitude, and being able to run our Borough as we would wish- Efficiently and yet providing adequate services.
Someones figures, whether they be from HMG or our own departments are way of any workable target.
Such figures would involve slashing those services most vital to our Elderly and very young.
Many of us in recent times have made suggestions, even demands, via this comment page facility, and I cannot anyone finding savings of £33 Millions per year.
Unless we are prepared to go the whole hog and totally revise our current top heavy management levels.
Too many chiefs and never enough Indians has been the situation our Council has nurtured for many years.
Chiefs, as we have seen, do not work very well on our behalf, only for themselves.
We should lighten this load at once, cut our costs and pay them off. There will be little pain in this, we have already proven that many services have struggled through incompetent management, and this can only be the fault of the one at the top.
We even see one at work about Education presently - there seems little logic in her urging the actions she is advocating. The future is in no way clear and yet massive changes are advised. NO - this method of working must go, and as soon as possible.
The other area offering savings of any size, is of course, the cessation of all those over ambitious schemes to change the whole geography of Calderdale.
We should not be the peripheral development site for the great conurbations about us. They created their own problems, it is not our task, nor at our cost, to right their problems.
Do it our way, for us.
Use maximum effort, and finance where needed to promote our own local firms, use them and benefit from them - The way it used to be - we had many local builders and allied trades, our Council deserted them, in preference for out of town, uncontrollable firms who walk through all regulations and leave any mess for us al
3

Peter Avinou,

31/07/2010 09:27:35
all to clear up, at our expense.
4

Ivor Backache,

31/07/2010 09:38:21
#2 Thank you Mr Peter Wannabee Know-it-all Avinou for that!

Mr P W K A for Prime Minister!
5

Rob Reynolds,

31/07/2010 10:25:20
Bye bye voluntary sector funding...send GALYIC a National Lottery funding form, along with everybody else ie. CAB £370,000pa.
6

PHAT ABBOTT,

31/07/2010 10:38:11
come o you scroungers time to do some work and pay into the system for a change

you lot are as bad as the councillers with their snouts in the troughs
7

PHAT ABBOTT,

31/07/2010 10:39:17
#2 rubbish
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halifax avenger,

31/07/2010 11:09:21
Cuts of this size will have a catastrophic effect on Calderdale and every other local authority. However, if we are to have cuts, they should certainly start at the top - with the councillors being the first target, closely folowed by the chief executive and the rest of the hangers-on. No more expenses claims for a start. Of course this will not happen. All the cuts will be in the services provided to the people, and management will no doubt escape unscathed - as per usual.
I have already suggested saving £7000 per annum by paying the chair of the so-called "Standards Committee", the Rev "I am supposed to be neutral" Barber just over £400 for the work he does for the council. Why he is paid over 20 times the remuneration of the other members of the committee for about 6 or 7 meetings a year beggars all belief.
9

PHAT ABBOTT,

31/07/2010 11:15:31
Its no wonder why we have to make these cuts

councillers wasting our money on filling out theyre expenses forms and secnd home allownces. its a disgrace we need an election NOW.

to many dossers and asylum seekers been allowed in too
10

Peter Avinou,

31/07/2010 11:17:40
#4 Ivor Backache
I certainly say more than you about anything, and thats a fact.
Some of us do care about where we are all being taken, and I mean apart from a ride by highly paid, do little Officers.
Shouldn't bother yourself though, it's hardly likely you appreciate or notice owt being an ex everything.
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