Austerity cuts are threatening the future of local authority services in the North West, says TUC

The future of local authority services in the North West is under threat from a growing financial crisis, with significant cuts already being made to statutory adult care and children’s services, says new analysis published today (Friday) by the TUC and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES).

The report, Austerity Uncovered, looks at the impacts of austerity, focusing upon how changes in publicly-funded services affect both people and places across the country, now and in the years to come.

The report, commissioned by the TUC, shows that the government’s austerity plans have considerably increased in scale, with cuts extending well into the next parliament.

The report says: 

• Changes to the government’s deficit reduction programme since it was first announced in June 2010 mean that we are now only half way through a nine year programme of austerity, when we should have been three quarters of the way through a six year programme. The government’s original proposals expected austerity to amount to 6.7 per cent of GDP. This is now expected to reach 10.3 per cent, increasing in cash terms from £120 billion to £210 billion.
• By 2015–16 the government will have reduced its funding to local authorities by an estimated 37 per cent. A significant funding gap is emerging within local government as a result of this. The total funding gap is forecast to increase at an average rate of £2.1bn per year until 2019–20 when it will reach £12.4bn.
• Councils in the North West have been most affected by reductions in local authority spending power, with an average cut of £234.76 per person – compared to an average cut across England of £130.06 per person.
• In a case study on one local authority, Blackpool Council, it found that total expenditure in the council had been cut by around a quarter since 2010.
• These cuts have had serious repercussions for services, even in core areas such as children’s services and adult care. For example, total expenditure in Adult Social Services has reduced by nearly £13m since 2011/12. The Council is spending £322 per 1,000 people in 2014/15 compared with £346 in 2011/12. Key services such as the Phoenix Centre for those with mental health problems have seen significant cutbacks.
• Children’s services have also received cuts of over £25m and the council’s youth services budget has been cut by half.

Austerity Uncovered identifies a number of common themes emerging from the nine local case studies. These include: a marked move away from the principle of universal services, with increased use of rationing, targeting and thresholds; significant cutbacks in adult care, particularly home care; and increasing levels of outsourcing of services in some cases.

North West TUC Regional Secretary Lynn Collins said: “There is a wide scale destruction of public services taking place under this government and the report shows the impact that is having here in the North West.

“Cuts are harming the most vulnerable in our society and in light of the devolution debate that is taking place it is even more important that we set out a proper vision for public services. This needs to be one that funds important services such as adult care and social services, not one that cuts to the bone of these vital lifelines for many.”

The report makes a number of recommendations on how to mitigate the impacts of austerity. These include: a needs-based approach to funding settlements that take into account places with higher levels of social and economic deprivation; further devolution of resources and decision-making powers at the local level; develop a long-term plan for increasing funding for adult social care; a high-level commitment to improve child wellbeing and reduce inequalities; more intelligent commissioning of services that promote the living wage and reduce the use of zero-hours contracts; and more collaboration with public service unions and community groups to encourage local strategies and solutions.

CLES Chief Executive Neil McInroy said: “This report outlines the wide range of impacts on people and communities. The scale and depth of the austerity cuts are harming both our present and future.

“This research tells us that austerity affects all the country, though it bites deeper in poorer areas. The North West is particularly susceptible to austerity measures. The region has historically had a high demand for public services and continues to do so. The challenges remain acute.

“We need to get the priorities right and appreciate that austerity means people’s needs are no longer being met like they should be. Without considered decisions based on the needs of people and places, now and into the future, we risk causing irreversible damage.”