Funding cuts put jobs and services at risk
ROCHDALE town hall chief Richard Farnell has warned his council’s finances are at ‘crisis point’ as the authority faces a £33.5m black hole in its budget.
Up to 100 redundancies could be made and essential services slashed as the authority battles yet more funding cuts.
Over the next three financial years the council predicts it faces a multi-million pound ‘budget gap’ as the cash it receives from Government continues to fall.
It means that since the Conservative government introduced austerity measures in 2010 Rochdale will have seen more than £200m slashed from its budget.
Detailed proposals of where cuts will be made have yet to be announced, but Coun Farnell warned ‘life or death’ services might be at risk.
He said: “We have had the best part of £200m worth of cuts to date and the pain never eases.
“The indications are that we now face another £33.5m of cuts over the next three financial years and it beggars belief that the government thinks we can continue providing life or death and essential services such as educating our children, looking after the elderly and caring for disabled people when we are facing yet more massive cuts to our budget.
“We have worked incredibly hard to minimise the impact of these devastating cuts on the people of Rochdale, and will continue to do so, but there comes a time when it will be impossible to deliver services we are legally obliged to do with the amount of grant we receive.
“We are at crisis point. We have made representation after representation to the government, but unfortunately so far it has fallen on deaf ears.
“We have already cut away the fat, we have stripped away the meat and we are now hacking away at the bone.”
Coun Farnell says he now intends to write to Sajid Javid, the Rochdale-born Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to invite him to visit his home town and ‘witness the impact of £200m worth of cuts’.
Coun Ashley Dearnley, leader of Rochdale’s Conservative group, said: “We are still in a period where we need to rein in public spending and it will remain difficult for some time.
“But there has been extra money coming from the government for health and social care and that is the big issue.
“If we can work better with health and social care now responsibility has been devolved there are big savings that can be made while still improving services.”
Maureen Howarth, Rochdale Unison branch secretary, said the union would ‘analyse and question’ every savings proposal.
She added: “We are clear that the responsibility for these continued cuts lies with the government.
“The workforce is on their knees and it is only their good will and commitment to public service that is keeping these vital services running.
“Our members are continuing to go the extra mile even though we keep having cuts, cuts, cuts.
“It is a sad time for local government - we cannot carry on like this.
“Do people have to suffer and die before things start to change?”
Cabinet will meet on Thursday to discuss the first phase of the budget programme.
A report says the ‘estimated budget gap’ is £15.9m in 2018/19; £8m in 2019/20; and £9.6m in 2020/21.
It adds: “The council will seek to minimize the number of employees who may be compulsory redundant.
“The council will seek to provide suitable alternative employment wherever this is possible and will seek to achieve reductions by voluntary measures wherever possible, by seeking volunteers for early retirement/voluntary redundancy.
“The proposals will be subject to full consultation with staff and trade unions.”
A consultation on the proposals will run from September 17 until November 1.
The final budget will be set by March 11, 2018.