The tail is wagging the dog

The BBC News at 12pm on August 4 reported, ‘A second Conservative-run council has set out plans to strip back services to the legal minimum amid calls for talks with central government’.

East Sussex County Council said it had saved £129m since 2010 and had to be realistic about the future.

The authority has confirmed it may only be able to offer services it is legally obliged to provide’.

Northamptonshire Council also proposed “radical service reductions” last week.

Sir Paul Carter, Kent County Council recently said, ‘The pain is now getting very severe and our immediate problem is getting through next year’s budget’.

He continued, ‘Government claims that county reserves had increased were “definitely not the case”, adding that the “pips are really beginning to squeak” in local government’.

The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police who is also finance lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, has said, ‘The reality of modern-day policing means the public sometimes do not get the service they expect’.

Probably due to cuts in grants and Warranted Police officers, which no doubt applies right across the country.

Essentially public services of every description are buckling under the pressures of massively reduced finances, increased demand and lack of human resources.

The recently announced above average pay increases for HM Forces, Police, Prison Officers and Fire Fighters, plus others, does nothing for the lack of personnel and has to come from existing budgets, so something else has to go, which makes little sense.

The Government drive encouraging local authorities to hive off a raft of services into the private sector [capitalism] continues and from my observation is wrecking the country.

One has only to look around to witness the general state of East Sussex, dreadful roads, broken pavements, uncut verges and hedgerows, litter everywhere in a once excellent County.

Getting rid of, instead of revamping County and District workforces and workplaces I believe will ultimately be shown to be a total folly.

What is now happening is that the tail [contractors] is wagging the dog [councils] and will cost us the taxpayers more.

The Carillion example will no doubt be followed by others that take the money fail to honour the work, cause chaos for the workforce and reliant businesses then do a runner.