Anger at Hackney Council cuts for 2011; but is it really that unfair?
By Sophie_RT | Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 22:15
As the new Council
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Stoke Newington's schools will be just some of the institutions to suffer following Hackney Council's budget cuts in 2011
budgets were released this week, Hackney learnt that it is to be one of over 30
areas nationwide that are to see cuts of nearly 9% in 2011. The police force in
the borough will have its funds reduced by around 5% and all public services
will be subject to major reshuffles and redundancies. Speaking to one Hackney
Council worker living in Stoke Newington on his reaction to the news, I was
told:“They’re cutting what
are already skeleton services. We had a restructuring meeting today and the
feedback from everyone was that the management have no idea what goes on on the
ground. Therefore they don’t value jobs. Every frontline council worker has to
work with people every day through their image, their attitude, their
behaviour. And yet all the people in the office, who wear suits to work, who
don’t have to go and get messy and don’t have to interact with people on the
street are telling the frontline staff that they’re about to be cut because
they deem their jobs less important. We all knew it was going to come, ever
since this savage government has been put in power.”
The announcement comes
after nearly two months of protests from local voluntary workers, Council
employees and residents of Hackney who were aware of the plans. Unfortunately
it seems that the resistance was in vain, and strikes are now planned
throughout local departments as a last resort.
Nearby Islington is one
of the other vulnerable areas to be hit with mammoth cuts in the New Year. Both
are Labour constituencies with high levels of unemployment and residents
reliant on state benefits, so the plans will be devastating for many local
households. However, this dependence on state funding means that as a borough
Hackney does receive more money from the Government per head of population than
most places in the country. So, even though the cuts are daunting, isn’t it fair
for us to take the biggest percentage if we receive the most in the first place?
Comments
Not out of my mind, MadamRed, just speaking it. Labour bankrupted this country with its wars and waste. The coalition are trying to patch things up, if that means a few less Xboxes and trips to Malaga then so be it.
By hackneyblue at 15:52 on 15/12/10
ReportAre you out of your mind?! Poorer people should be entitled to a decent living too, and all that will happen if we reduce help for those who need it is that they will turn to crime and less legitimate ways to help them in desperate times. It's counter productive. Hackney is a poor place and should be looked after, not abandoned.
By White Rabbit at 14:42 on 15/12/10
ReportThese cuts may seem drastic, but they are the only way to sort out the mess handed over by Labour. The truth is public spending is now returning to a more reasonable level compared with Brown's irresponsible free-for-all.
By hackneyblue at 10:44 on 15/12/10
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