Councils plan radical cuts
Author: Financial Times - Aug 12, 2009
Leading Tory councils are rethinking the provision of local public services, including parks, libraries, and street cleaning, as they confront a severe squeeze on public spending of up to 20 per cent in the years ahead.
Radical cost-cutting proposals by Conservative-controlled councils such as Barnet, Essex, and Hammersmith and Fulham are refuelling the debate about the role of the state and could provide a national blueprint for an incoming Conservative government
In Barnet, north London, one of the more radical Conservative councils, spending is being cut on local parks, libraries, welfare rights advice and sheltered housing.
Mike Freer, its leader, said councils would have to face the difficult political choice of cutting areas of discretionary spending that are most visible to the public. “The irony is all these areas are what the public notices,” he said.
Barnet Council is questioning the traditional view of what services local authorities should provide while Essex is seeking to change outdated operating practices and Hammersmith and Fulham has fulfilled pledges to cut the council tax each year.
Nick Walkley, Barnet chief executive, said: “We are talking about what the local state in totality has to do ... My view is we can’t waste this crisis. Now is the time to have that discussion.”
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