Somerset County Council approves £43m of budget cuts

Much as I may have felt this was largely a foregone conclusion there was still something rather ghastly about the actual event itself.


The BBC reports it here.

I have some sympathy for the arts in Somerset who are having a 100% cut in budget, and which has been well covered locally and even managed a segment on Newsnight last night, which is well worth a viewing.  The main revelation from that was that Ken Maddock used to be into amateur dramatics, even appearing in a performance of Waiting for Godot.  The mind boggles.


But this was all a smokescreen to the main event which was the massive, wholesale slashing of services in Somerset.  No area will remain untouched with Childrens and Young Peoples Directorate taking a massive 65-75% cut in budget.  Highways maintenance is taking a 50% cut with an extra 90,000 potholes predicted over three years and a £200 million maintenance bombshell to be made up in the future by another adminstration presumably when Ken and his clique have cleared off back to Mendip.  Every area of civic life is being damaged by these ill judged, panic led measures all because Ken Maddock is too boneheaded to accept additional debt at a time of falling tax revenue as a necessary evil.  That they are being taken a full month ahead of the final settlement by central government makes it difficult to fathom the haste.  Maybe they are in hurry because they just have to make sure they get the redundancy notices out for staff for Christmas Day.  Unfortunately that's not a joke and is in fact the timetable released by UNISON for the redundancy notices for staff at SCC.    


When the full effect of the national cuts is felt there will be some in Somerset who will disproportionally hit.  Ken Maddock and the Chief Executive, Sheila Wheeler, make great play on protecting the vulnerable but it is difficult to see how this achievable in any meaningful sense against the overall backdrop of a cross the board reduction in services.  The Cabinet have already been told they are in breach of breach of equalities and human rights legislation with their proposals for adult social care to little effect.  

There is more to come with another meeting on the 22nd December to decide a further £30 million of cuts and this may present the best opportunity for a reversal for the Cabinet.  This meeting will deal with the capital borrowing and there are Tory councilors who are opposed to this extra cut.  

It's not over yet and regardless of the outcome of the next meeting it is absolutely vital for us to oppose the Tories and their idealogically driven cuts in every arena we can.  They need to be held to account and to take resposibility for the choices they have made.