Local Government Cuts - There ain't nothing like a Dame!‏

The oddly delivered Treasury report announced to the press before Parliament and in advance of the Queens Speech  (how rude are they?) was littered with cuts for local government. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/press_04_10.pdf

You could be forgiven in thinking that the cuts for Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) were merely the odd £780 million – you could find more down the back of the Cameron’s sofa surely? But no it wasn’t to be that simple or painless. The £780 million from DCLG is just one piece of the civil service blood letting. Local government will see its grant settlements cut by £1.16 billion this year. Whilst arguing that this will be manageable because the formula grant of £29 billion will be unaffected. So having formula grant settlements that lag behind inflation and fail to reflect the increasing pressure on council services is a cause for celebration we assume?

But it all gets so much worse. The Tory led delusional LGA are arguing in effect that the £1.16 billion is a tiny sum dwarfed by Sarah Ferguson’s overdraft interest. They claim that local government could save £22.5 billion during the lifetime of this Parliament.

The newly Damed (is there such a word) Margaret Eaton in a report conveniently slipped out on the 21 May says “There are enormous opportunities to save billions more if we grasp the nettle and cut out the middlemen who tie up huge sums in needless red tape’ . And just how are they going to make these savings? Well no prizes for guessing the old chestnut of a ‘bonfire of the quangos’ surfaces. The Dame goes on to say ‘Giving elected councils control over local spending through local “area budgets” – reporting direct to Parliament - cutting out costly quangos, funding agencies, ring fenced budgets and excessive reporting requirements.

"A national productivity programme to identify further efficiencies in local government through greater sharing of back-office functions, running joint services and workforce modernisation.’

http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=11351020

It is both a laughable and depressing report. Back office shared services are nothing new but are complex and can cost more to do then they save. De-ringfencing (the new LG buzz word take note) has already been announced in the Treasury report so nothing new there. And public sector productivity? Actually the public sector over-produces because for years most of our members have worked rafts of unpaid overtime, job freezes are commonplace already and councils have been shedding staff faster than the liberal democrats have dropped their principles.

Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that the Dame and new Local Government Minister Eric Pickles are former leaders of Bradford Council? Perhaps it would be unfair to suggest that the LGA report has been hurried out to make Pickles seem a reasonable chap when the LGA are proposing much deeper cuts? It will certainly mute resistance from Tory councils if the LGA have already surrendered the fight. Whichever way this is viewed the Dame has been ill-advised. The Dame was liked and respected in defending councils and the role that they do. By allowing manipulation of this level of LGA policy development the Dame has become a pantomime horse. And she’s playing the rear legs.

Anna Rose