Friday, December 02, 2011

Suffolk County Council budget - pain, pain and more pain

Part of my role as Creeting St Peter's 'envoy to the world' is to represent us at area meetings of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils. Now I would be the first to admit that this does not appear to be high on the list of 'must see' events, but they are a valuable source of information. And last night's meeting was a fine example of that, as we were the rather concerned recipients of a presentation on the future finances of Suffolk County Council, fronted by the Deputy Leader of the council, Jane Storey.

In short, it is going to be pretty bloody awful, with another £50 million worth of cuts to be inflicted over the course of 2012-13 and 2013-14, and the prospect of more to follow given George Osborne's Autumn Statement earlier in the week.

There is some good news, however, in that she talked of a more holistic, long term approach. For example, we heard that the council provides carers to help people into and out of the bath if they need help. Instead, it might make more sense to build them a wet room instead, allowing them to preserve their independence and reduce the overall cost. It's a small thing, but it helps.

Turning off street lights between midnight and 5.30 a.m. also helps, saving £1 per month per street light, which certainly adds up across a county.

It will be painful, undoubtedly, and we're all going to have to get used to doing things for ourselves where we can, but rather than see the poor and the vulnerable suffer, we're just going to have to deal with it, I suspect.

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