Lib Dems Question "No Cuts" Budget

3.43.11pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 3rd Apr 2006

Liberal Democrat County Councillors are asking a series of questions to Cabinet members tomorrow about why "service reductions" shown in the Council budget papers are not "cuts". The budget passed by the Conservative administration on 14th February this year showed over £7 million of "service reductions" - including:

• decreasing the number of nursing home placements that can be purchased

• deducing the already inadequate number of respite beds

• increasing waiting lists for assessments and care packages

• reducing the number of placements available for disabled people

• reducing highway maintenance

• reducing the support for children with special needs - with hearing and language problems, with autism, with physical and mental disabilities

• closing the Records Office on Tuesdays

Cllr Zoe Patrick, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said, "The amount of cash being spent by the Council may have risen this year, but not by enough to continue all the services that were provided last year. This means that some services are genuinely being cut back - yet the Tories persist in calling this a "no cuts" budget.

"And what makes it worse is that many of these cuts are being made in services to the most vulnerable in our communities - elderly people, people with disabilities and children. In their dogmatic rush to keep council tax down - by the massive sum of 50p a month! - the Tories have trampled over the needs of those most unable to shout for help."