Waltham Forest: New Year, new cuts (From This Is Local London)

Waltham Forest: New Year, new cuts

8:45am Friday 5th January 2007 in

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CUTS and extra charges worth £6.8m will be made in Waltham Forest this year so that Council Tax rises can be kept below the rate of inflation.

But there is still enough money in the pot for councillors to give themselves the £134,200 pay rise they agreed in October, bringing the total pay bill for members up to £1,042,700 in 2007/8.

Council leader Cllr Clyde Loakes alone will see his pay packet rise by £17,291 to £50,000 a year.

Councillors decided to slash services at last month's cabinet meetinContinued from page 1 And jobs will be lost including five social workers posts, some relating to liasing with Whipps Cross University Hospital and the HIV social work team.

Unison representative Dave Knight said that the union was "very worried" about the cuts, particularly job losses which will lead to redundancies.

"It is the same old story. Services to the poor and vulnerable are being cut and damaged," he said.

"We're really worried about the council's seeming admission now that the private sector is better than the public sector.

"We get a better standard of care with council-run services. When a private company takes it over, its first responsibility is to shareholders."

Mr Knight also said he was concerned that the cuts in funding to voluntary organisations would have an impact on those they help.

The decision follows a pledge made in July to keep council tax rises below 2.5 per cent over the next three years.

Further cuts of £3.7m in 2008/9 and £2.78m in 2009/10 are planned.

Council leader Clyde Loakes was unavailable to answer our questions but said at the cabinet meeting: "We have a duty to ensure council taxpayers get the right balance of value for their money against the best possible services.

"That means we do have some tough choices to make and we must focus on our priorities.

"Our priority is to deliver high quality services that meet the needs of our residents at a cost they can afford."

WHAT WILL BE CUT?

ENVIRONMENT - £1,021,000 raised through new parking permits to encourage "sustainable car ownership"

CHILDREN'S SERVICES - £425,000 saved by increasing fees for out of school projects (holiday schemes to increase from £1.75 to £13.50 per day, after school clubs to increase from £4.50 to £6.50 per day) - £195,000 cut from Chapel End early excellence centre, Walthamstow - Brooks Farm in Skeltons Lane, Leyton, may have to charge schools to visit - Teaching posts at Suntrap Forest Education Centre cut, teaching support staff employed so that centre can open in the holidays. Schools may be charged to visit.

ADULT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES - Five social workers to be cut from First Response, Whipps Cross, HIV and Social Work teams - Trumpington Road Learning disability respite beds rented out to other boroughs, saving £206,000 - Afro Caribbean Elders Association drop in advice and support service axed - £95,000 cut from SCOPE physical, sensory and disability day service, the only one of its kind in the borough - £89,000 from the mental health service run by North East London Mental Health Trust - £40,000 cut from council's social care bus service.

- No more hot meals for learning disability service users at Markhouse Road, saving £33,000 - Vestry House Museum and William Morris Gallery service cut. Public access only at weekends and during school holidays and staff to clean galleries and their offices - £56,000 saved.

- Funding to CLaSS (Community Learning and Skills Service) cut by £45,000, 2.5 full time jobs cut and subsidy for over-60s course fees removed.