Frank Field: We’re at top of the cuts league

Nov 14 2012 by Val Woan, Birkenhead News

THE Tory-Liberal Coalition has dealt Wirral a terrible hand. The most cursory glance of the cuts league table shows that our local authority is at the top.

The taxpayer grant to local authorities has been cut to the maximum extent, and the Government threatens to penalise Wirral further should it try and make up some of the difference from increasing the Council tax.

It is from this position that the new administration has to try and run a local authority.

The question facing our new administration is what should we spend a much reduced budget on and what should be cut.

The administration is trying to play this worst possible hand while being as open as possible.

The last Cabinet meeting was an open one to which anybody could turn up and listen to the chief executive present his proposals on how to impose these Tory-Liberal imposed cuts. 400 residents were present.

A large crowd but still just a tiny number of the 300,000 citizens of Wirral. The proposals made to the Cabinet are based on the wide consultation the leadership initiated amongst voters to find out from them what services they most value.

However, the Coalition government isn't much interested in where Wirral makes its cuts providing it takes £100 million out of its budget within the space of three years.

However, if the Council doesn’t agree a cuts budget, the Government will have no hesitation in sending in commissioners to make what cuts they like.