CUTS WILL START TO BITE IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

It is now one year since the outcome of the General Election saw the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form a coalition and embark on a programme of huge cuts in public spending.

Some cuts, such as the tripling of tuition fees and the abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowances, have received a lot of publicity while others have slipped through relatively unnoticed.

The austerity programme is set to last for another four years, but we have already seen decisions taken that will severely impact upon local people in Derby. Here are some examples of the annual costs of the government’s decisions on you and your family.

• The Child Trust Fund that was designed to provide a nest egg for children when they reach adulthood and was worth £250 has been scrapped.
• The rise in VAT will cost an average household an extra £275 each year.
• Removing entitlement to child benefit for people earning over £44,000 will see families losing £1,055 each year for the eldest child and £749 for younger children.
• The decision to freeze the value of child benefit will result in everyone else with children losing over £100 per annum.
• The abolition of the Health in Pregnancy grant will see new mums losing £190.
• The Winter Fuel Allowance for pensioners will be cut this winter by £50 for pensioners under 80 and by £100 for pensioners over 80.
• The Future Jobs Fund that provided financial support to employers to take on young people has been cancelled even though youth unemployment has reached a record high.

Here in Derby Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors have agreed huge cuts affecting local people while simultaneously signing off a contract to spend £40m refurbishing the council’s HQ!

They are planning to close six Sure Start children’s centres, four youth centres, the Silk Mill Industrial Museum and recycling facilities around the city. They will also be reducing school transport, refuse collection and library opening times.
The cuts in funding for Derby City Council, Derbyshire Police and Derbyshire Fire Service will see well over 1,000 public service workers losing their jobs. This includes 670 council workers, 178 police officers, 23 PCSOs, 49 fire fighters and 148 non-operational Police and Fire Service staff.

These public service cuts will also impact on local businesses by taking demand out of the local economy. The full impact of that is yet to be determined, but it is likely to be significant. That is why people working inside and outside the public sector should be equally concerned about the impact of the coalition’s cuts.

With fewer people in employment, tax revenues will be reduced; social security payments will increase making it more difficult to reduce the national debt. This was evident at the last budget when George Osborne announced increased borrowing of £45bn.