Extent of £9 million council cuts revealed

Youth services slashed as papers detailing extent of West Berkshire Council budget cuts released

THE finer details of West Berkshire Council's attempt to slash £9 million from its budget have been published a week before the ruling executive board is expected to pass the proposals.

Taking the axe to every single council department from those which oversee bin collections to schools, roads, the environment, to staffing and services for the elderly and vulnerable, no area has gone unscathed as part of the second year of brutal cuts enforced by a £25 million four-year reduction in funding from central Government.

Many of the proposed decisions were already in the public domain after an announcement from the leader of the council, Graham Jones (Con, Lambourn), on Monday in which he pointed at the grim financial state of the national and international economy as a major reason for increased pressure on the council to take tough decisions.

Detailed in the papers, available on the West Berkshire Council website, are the extent to which each department has cuts jobs and restructured.

Education services has had £1,423,890 cut, with almost half a million pounds axed from the Connexions youth advice service.

The entire youth and commissioning service area has been removed to save £262,440.

The commissioning, housing and safeguarding department, which includes money spent on women's refuges, victims of domestic abuse, and support for older people has also seen the deletion of jobs and cuts to support totalling £742,633.

Culture and environmental protection savings total £1,057,130, and £768,000 has been axed from the highways and transport budget, which will include reduced emergency response, a reduction in sewage treatment, and the removal of travel tokens for disabled public transport users.

Other big savings have been made under the heading corporate items, which includes a senior management review and more job losses, totalling £846,000.

Of the £2 million cuts which the council was obliged to consult on, those directly affecting vulnerable groups, only the West Berkshire Citizens Advice Bureau was spared a reduction in funding with a threat of a £13,000 reduction removed.

The reduction of grants to Partners for Active Leisure Schemes West Berkshire (PALS), A2 Dominion West Berkshire Domestic Abuse Service, Dingley Family and Play Therapy Group, Newbury, Crossroads Care, Newbury, and West Berkshire Mencap will still go ahead, but to be phased over two years.

An increase in fees and charges, the introduction of Sunday parking charges in Newbury and the renegotiation of contracts are to be implemented to increase income.

West Berkshire Labour party criticised the council's record on borrowing and said that in times of austerity, West Berkshire District Council should attempt to reduce its debt, not increase it by spending millions of pounds on property.

Spokesman Richard Garvie said: "What this Conservative administration is showing is that they are more concerned with running up tens of millions of pounds worth a debt by going on a property spending spree which has resulted in far deeper cuts to public services. I don't think anyone in West Berkshire will believe that is the right thing to do."

For more on this story see this week's Newbury Weekly News.