Diabolical cuts to Devon funding
Independent County Councillor Claire Wright, bottom right, says (see full post here):
‘Fewer people are set to be eligible to receive social care in Devon in the coming year, following the latest required budget cuts, due to government austerity measures.
At the same time Devon County’s council tax is set to rise by three per cent from April, to try and cope with the latest massive loss in income.
At yesterday’s joint budget scrutiny meeting councillors agreed to urge all Devon MPs to speak AND vote against the council cuts debate in the House of Commons, which is expected to take place early in February.
Between April 2017 and March 2018 a huge £23m must be struck from budgets – a 15 per cent cut.
We are now in the eighth year of austerity and Devon County Council’s annual government grant has plummeted by well over half – from £283m in 2010 to £128m.
We continue to see our roads break and fracture. The government gives councils a fraction of the money that has been cut and the blames councils when it can’t repair all the roads. Some roads are simply deteriorating and will not be properly repaired.
Almost all Devon County Council run care homes have shut, Devon County Council run youth centres have closed and many bus routes were lost or cut back.
… Children’s homes closed and funding has been cut for vulnerable children and adults.
Last month, the council removed some of the schools’ budget for special needs funding to make its books balance. This has plunged more Devon schools into an even worse financially austere position.’
Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 
February 2, 2017 at 10:34 am
Why not cut EDDC and County Council senior execs pay and pensions? there’s a load of money there that could be better spent. I think they are hugely overpaid for what they deliver. I would look at any council and public service staff earning from £50,000 in that region and start making cuts. It’s time public service staff came in to the real world where the rest of us have to live. They also need to start working outside of Mon-Fri 9-5.
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February 3, 2017 at 8:44 am
I absolutely agree that executive pay should be cut back. But while the money saved will help, it won’t fill much of a £23 billion black hole. The public and councils need to challenge the government on that.
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