GOVERNMENT SPENDING REVIEW

I recently attended a presentation on local government which began with ‘the bubble is about to burst’. How prescient.

With the latest round of spending cuts now out in the open, we know of course just how accurate this was.

Local government is of course the easy target, with the man on the street quick to blame when the spectrum of services, expected almost as a right, diminishes daily. A further 10% is going to be a very tough and painful call.

After three years of severe constraints some of us might have been forgiven for thinking that it was all over bar the shouting.

In all areas, whether at County, District, or a more local level, difficult decisions have become the norm. Gone are the days when a local community could draw up a wish list with the expectation that it might come to fruition.

Planning for the worst-case scenario is what we, the tax payers, pay senior officers to do, particularly in the current economic climate. Already we have seen a significant shift in the way in which services are delivered, along with the extent and frequency of them.

No-one could sensibly argue that the cuts aren’t necessary, although at times one could question the method of the decision making and execution.

On the plus side at least, both health and education, the two things closest to my own heart, have largely been spared the chancellor’s knife.

The cold reality is that whether we like it or not, things are going to change, but not necessarily for the worse.

I think that as taxpayers our relationship with our local councils as key service providers can be likened to a marriage, joined together for better or worse.

As in a long term marriage, things change, often brought about as a result of outside forces. Things don’t have to be worse, but we must accept that things will be different.

There is no more ‘give’ in the system and we are increasingly going to have to look to our own community assets, not just physical resources, but also the precious skills and knowledge, of those who make up our communities; those who live on our doorsteps.

The problems are not going to go away any time soon, and there is a real danger of us becoming entrenched in our views and positions as time get even tougher.

In his post speech interview, George Osborne described the economy as being in ‘intensive care’. In such a situation, as we would within our own family units, now is the time for everyone to pull together, or else our current financial situation could become terminal, from which there is no return.

Action, not words, is what is required.