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£10.98m cuts unveiled by Lancashire County Council


JOBS look set to be in jeopardy across Lancashire children’s homes and young people’s services as part of a major cuts package.

Conservative leaders at County Hall claim they have tried to minimise the impact on frontline operations, following reductions in Government grants totalling £22million.

But opposition councillors insist the most vulnerable will be hit hardest by a raft of spending cuts announced today.

Around £400,000 will be saved from staffing costs at Lancashire’s children’s homes, with another £150,000 reduction earmarked for the young people’s service.

General job reviews across the children and young people’s and environment directorates will reduce spending by £961,000.

Labour leader Coun Jennifer Mein said the cuts were ‘unnecessary’ as Chancellor George Osborne did not need to reduce the area-based grant for councils this year.

Coun Mohamed Iqbal, who represents Brierfield and Nelson North, said: “Clearly the Tory-controlled county council is following the lead of its coalition nationally.

“It would appear the most vulnerable, including young people and the elderly, will be hardest hit.”

Cuts of £50,000 to the teenage pregnancy service and £300,000 for the Connexions careers service also alarmed Hyndburn county councillor Ciaran Wells.

Coun Wells, of Great Harwood, added: “Unfortunately it appears that they are making choices which affect those who are least able to stand up for themselves in society.”

Other spending cuts, including £500,000 saved on the Pennine Reach quality bus route and the closure of Padiham household waste centre, have been reported previously.

Council leader Coun Geoff Driver said: “We have asked managers to find ways of protecting them by saving money from non-frontline activities.

“But there is no escaping the fact Lancashire has to contribute to relieving the huge burden on public finances nationally.

“I am very clear that I will do my absolute utmost to protect services for the most vulnerable in the county.”

County officials said no firm figure could be placed on the total number of jobs under threat but some losses could be achieved by scrapping unfilled vacancies and early retirements.

The cuts total £10.98million, with £10million worth of performance grant-related schemes, across a range of directorates, having already been shelved.

Comments(14)

Pennine Lad says...
5:59pm Wed 1 Sep 10

Thank you Nick Clegg, Gordon Birtwistle, and other Tories.

Your personal reward will be your non-election next time round. In the meantime, everyone else has to suffer for the unnecessarily severe spending cuts that most people in this area did not vote for.

andy1 says...
6:18pm Wed 1 Sep 10

And theirs some who trust the Tories. I fear this is just the beggining of these cuts. Whos betting thy dont affect the Rich?

ganja man says...
6:36pm Wed 1 Sep 10

Predicted before the election on this forum about the savage cuts the TORIES would impose on the least vulnerable in our society
- children
-young people
-disabled
-single parent families
-the infirm
-pensioners

all these groups have been affected by the cuts imposed SO FAR.

Too right, andy1, they as usual do not affect the rich. They have actually become bettr off in the last 10 years and will do so under the TORIES.
andy1, this is a a small reminder in a big way of what Thatcher did to the working class people in the early 1980's.
Many people the regretted deeply voting for TORIES.

Seems people in future will not vote for TORIES AND LIB DEMS.
The lib DEM elite in Pendle and Burnley take note your party is consigned forever to the "Vauxhall Conference League" of politics.
With that prediction i shall kick off!!

mickyfin says...
6:47pm Wed 1 Sep 10

Pennine Lad wrote:
Thank you Nick Clegg, Gordon Birtwistle, and other Tories.

Your personal reward will be your non-election next time round. In the meantime, everyone else has to suffer for the unnecessarily severe spending cuts that most people in this area did not vote for.
No, the cuts are neccessary to stop this country going bust after years of unfair taxes, gross mismanagement of the welfare system, gross mismanagement of the economy, theft and destruction of every single final salary scheme in the country, the last government should be indicted on treason charges, they took us into 2 false wars, and the only people who are p!seed of with this are the government workers who hold down a non existent job at the taxpayers expense and the shirkers who might have to spend a day at work instead of the pub, the tories are saying it, the lobs are saying it and now any labour mp with a brain is joining the cause to get this country back from the brink of destruction, brought on by labors gross mismanagement of the country, gordon and the rest of you, keep up the good work, the more idiots that complain, the better job you must be doing, let's get this country back on track'

Totally says...
7:06pm Wed 1 Sep 10

mickyfin, wake up! They are not sacking high earners or non-jobs they are getting rid of front-line staff who work in childrens' homes.
None of these changes will affect the top tier and that is the one that costs the most in taxpayers' money.
Many of us may have tory values but how many of us can afford to live with them?

Totally says...
7:17pm Wed 1 Sep 10

Please do not applaud the cutting of front-ine services when nothing is being done to stop things like this -

http://www.lep.co.uk
/news/spending_is_de
fended_by_nwda_1_149
3592

pull some strings says...
7:23pm Wed 1 Sep 10

I think the cuts make absolute commonsense.

You cannot pay for services with money you haven't got. It's as simple as that.

And as for the accusation about it not affecting the rich. We'll the rich didn't get anything extra out of Labour LCC spending money it didn't have, therefore you can't take something off people who got nothing!

Pretty obvious who will be affected then. It's a necessary situation I'm afraid after Labour left such a huge budget deficit and £3 TRILLION National Debt.

Funny thing is that Labourshites can't seperate fact from there own fiction!

DEO VOLENTE says...
10:21pm Wed 1 Sep 10

All the current cuts are entirely due to the "New Labour" legacy. As has already been eloquently set out, "New Labour" are to blame for the economic and moral decline of the UK. "New Labour" and their Politically Disorientated, Spendaholic, Champagne Socialist, Politically (in)correct policies have corrupted and infected the UK. "New Labour" have mismanaged and failed miserably, inter alia, on Crime and Disorder, Immigration, Education, the NHS, Housing, the Public Sector, the Private Sector, Pensions, the EU and the Benefit System. "New Labour" also "cheated" the U.K. electorate on the referendum on the E.U. constitution and introduced the most lamentable, dangerous peice of legislation known to man, that is "The Human Rights Act". In addition we have now learned that "Blair" thought "Brown" unfit for the role of "Prime Minister" but notwithstanding his own opinion decided to endorse him! " New Labour" are and always have been "Old Liars". We must never allow "New labour" to infect and corrupt the U.K again. If you lose your job remember who is to blame and when you get the chance reject "New Labour" at the ballot box. Are you listening Mr Miliband?

Chris P Bacon says...
7:04am Thu 2 Sep 10

He can't leave it alone, can he? The pretentious pillock wants to shoe-horn his particular obsession into every story he sees. I can't read the appalling guff he spews forth but see the last line 'are you listening Mr. Milliband' despite his not referring to which Mr Milliband or why he'd be more interested in listening to that Latin away-with-the-mixer loony than he would be in listening to a hippopotamus ****. It makes about as much sense.

akon says...
11:36am Thu 2 Sep 10

The red commy labourites are spouting again .
It was your f*cking Commy Labour party that has well & truly ruined this country,spending money we haven't got,promising millions to everyone except the british !!
Get a grip FFS.

BuckoTheMoose says...
12:00pm Thu 2 Sep 10

Frontline my arse. I'm sure we won't even notice these cuts. The only people who will be affected are those in council non jobs, paid for by our money.
Usual rubbish about cuts not affecting the rich. All these crappy "childrens" and "vulnerable people" schemes are only targeted at the poor. (That is the poor who can afford a good car, a plasma telly, and enless kids, fags and booze).
Give up the bleating, lefties. Its time you stop spending my money on your crap.

five says...
5:24pm Thu 2 Sep 10

For all of you who support these cuts wait until it affects you.
They say pigs scream loudest on slaughter day.

BuckoTheMoose says...
5:37pm Thu 2 Sep 10

five wrote:
For all of you who support these cuts wait until it affects you.
They say pigs scream loudest on slaughter day.
As a private sector worker who uses nothing the government has to offer, these cuts can only affect me in a positive way. Such as an improved economy and lower tax burdons.
People like me will reap the benefits. Scroungers and non jobbers will feel the pain. Thats fine by me. The gravy train has been running for long enough.

Totally says...
10:21pm Thu 2 Sep 10

So Bucko, you don't use streetlights to see at night, you don't use roads or public transport, you don't have your bins emptied and when you are older you will not be wanting any support or care. It must be great living on a cloud.
These cuts are not going to put any money back in your pocket, taxes will still rise to sort out the cyclical economic crisis, don't be so naive.


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