When this Conservative-led government was formed last year, it came in with an agenda to deeply cut the public sector. The argument at the time was that the national debt was too big, and harsh austerity measures were needed to bring the debt under control. So, local authorities, together with other public sector bodies have experienced unprecedented cuts. In Exeter, around 40% of jobs are reliant on public sector money, so we will be harder hit than most. Devon & Cornwall Police have to lose 746 officers - the 5th highest cut in the country. (http://www.campaignengineroom.org.uk/police-map)
Devon County Council are proposing to cut a further £30million of services in 2012-13 on top of the £26million+ that was cut in this financial year. Exeter City Council has faced cuts of 24% over 2 years.
Nationally, there is increasing concern among economists, businesses and politicians that these nationally-imposed cuts are simply not working. The national debt has not come down, growth remains stagnant, and unemployment continues to rise to levels not seen since - well, the last time the Tories were in. Even yesterday's announcement that growth had risen to 0.5% was not good news - it needed to be at least 1.3% if George Osborne was to be on track to meet his own deficit reduction target for the year.
So locally Exeter City Council and Devon County Council have no choice but to continue to cut vital public services next year because of national Tory ideology and a Lib Dem unwillingness (or impotence) to stand up to their Tory bosses.
Both councils however, are asking local residents to talk to them about the services that matter most. It often feels like Hobson's Choice: Do we want more housing for a growing number of homeless people, or more care for a growing elderly population? Do we slash services for disabled people, or child protection services? Do we collect rubbish, or fix pavements and roads? No one is pretending it's easy, but you have a chance to have your say about the services that matter most to YOU.
Details of Exeter City Council's consultation can be found at http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=13880
Devon County Council's consultation page is at: http://www.toughchoices.co.uk/
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