Private contractors will not improve services
Alistair Darling's first budget has done nothing for the financial difficulties of the council. The 1% increase in funding to councils will not even cover the rise in costs for wages, fuel, and other goods. On top of this the Government is demanding 3% efficiency savings to divert cash to the front line. One solution proposed is the use of private contractors (the Organisation Transformation Programme), a favourite strategy of this Government. Yet there is no reason to believ
The Government likes the big headlines of taxes, health, education and Olympics. As local authorities are squeezed then it is the services that bind communities, the care of our children and elderly, local facilities for sports and arts, which will be pressurised until they crack. The Green group will argue for more funding, for well-planned savings to be made that avoid the expensive mess of privatisation, and for the protection of these valued services.
Jason Leman Sheffield Green Party