UNISON opinion: Why councils are on the brink – and how they can be pulled back

By UNISON’s head of local government Mike Short Local government is in the news. But not for the right reasons. The Daily Mail asks “Is your council about to go bust?”, the Mirror tells us that every single local authority, bar one, is experiencing cuts to funding and the Guardian reports that councils are resorting to crowdfunding to maintain their schools. We hear about the youth clubs that have closed and the Christmas lights that won’t be switched on. Each day there’s news that another council can’t balance the books, more services are being cut or closed down and jobs are on the line. And every single cut and closure has an impact. It’s not surprising that councils are on the brink of bankruptcy. They’ve faced thirteen years of significant reductions to their funding. By 2019 councils had 41% less government income than they did in 2010, all this while demand for services is growing. There are more people who need social care, more young people who need extra support in schools, more people who don’t even have a home to live in. UNISON’s research shows the extent of these cuts. Over a thousand council-operated youth centres have closed. Even more council operated children and family centres have closed since 2010. Around 800 council libraries have closed. Each of these represents a place where people could find support, advice and information, places to learn, create social connections. With violent crime soaring and vaccination rates dropping you...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article Blogs council cuts local government local government cuts Source Type: news