At the recent first meeting of new Bristol mayor George Ferguson’s Cuts Cabinet there were clear indications of the severity of the cuts that can be expected when the budget proposals for 2013/4 are published on 7th January. Describing next year’s budget, George Ferguson said – “the budget will be tough” and the budget will be ”more severe that previous years” as the council would be “cutting on cuts”. There were strong indications that even where last year there was hard-won respite from cuts in some areas of the budget, these areas would be threatened again this year – in Ferguson’s words “everything is reasonable”. In yesterday’s Evening Post report of the government’s announcement of a 6.5% cut in Bristol’s funding over the next two years, George Ferguson was quoted as saying that his budget proposals will include “some serious cuts in services and jobs”.
As expected, starting in January there will need to be a renewed campaign against local government cuts. Council leaders can’t just complain that they are being forced to carry out the government’s dirty work. They need to fightback against them. BADACA will be at the forefront of organising a campaign against Ferguson’s cuts. Look out for details in the new year.
BADACA submitted the following questions to the mayor at the cabinet meeting:
“I refer to the Council meeting on the 20th November 2012.
“In a written answer you undertook to look carefully at the day services over ‘the next few days’. Can you now give the results of your review?
“Also in the same answer you stated in respect of the residential programme ‘I will only look carefully at future phases’. Would you please clarify what you meant by future phases – i.e. beyond what mark is ‘future’?”
In a written reply, the mayor said:
“As the new Mayor of Bristol, I am very aware of the importance of the provision of good quality services for vulnerable people in our city. Whilst I hold the executive brief for Health & Social Care, I have asked a panel of members, one from each of the political parties, to review the decisions made on both day opportunities and residential care for older people. As the programme for Brentry and Coombe was already well underway, the review does not include those homes as I was keen to prevent any further uncertainty for both residents and staff.
“The panel are holding their second meeting on Thursday 20th December and I am anticipating they will bring forward recommendations for me as Mayor to make a decision very early in the New Year.”
Leaving aside the rather bizarre argument that the process of moving elderly residents out of their homes at Coombe and Brentry should continue to prevent ‘uncertainty’, the chance for the mayor to continue this prevarication is rapidly coming to an end. In the first two weeks of the New Year he will have to decide what he is going to do in relation to care homes, day centres and all the other new cuts for the next financial year. Then we will find our if he is really going to stand up for Bristol as he promised the voters or if he will just carry on the ConDems’ dirty work like the Liberal council before him.
