The County Council are looking for £38 million cuts up to 2010 which spells absolute disaster for those of us in Northumberland who work for the council and for all of the people who rely upon the provision of decently funded services. Following on from the decimation of Public Sector Residential provision for older people and Homecare Services and the closure of much needed facilities for people with disabilities, the Council is announcing this year’s cut of £4.7million which, wherever the axe falls, will have a drastic impact upon services as every element of current services is so seriously underfunded in the first place.

The Leader of the Council, Peter Hillman, stated publicly that they are not going to hit frontline services. What a Joke! This year alone he and his fellow travellers have shut a children’s home and are about to rubber stamp another closure, Allerhope, in Cramlington. You can’t get more front line than needing beds for young people in crises. Without pausing to breathe, they are going to slash cover for social work teams who are already stressed out and fighting increasingly impossible caseloads of work. These are but two examples which amount to £489,000 of cuts. So dear reader just think of the impact of another £4.2 million to be found this year and you can get the picture of the extent of vandalism this Council is pushing through.

Survey after survey has evidenced that the public want decently funded public services that exist to meet the needs of our communities on a not- for- profit model. Yet with these closures we are seeing  the growth of the private sector waiting in the wings to get its hands on taxpayers’ monies - placing profit at the heart of their service. Millions of pounds of our cash will disappear into the black hole of privatisation, bringing milk and honey to the owners of the big chains of homes at the expense of workers’ wages and the conditions and of those using these services. The trades unions and the wider public must come together as swiftly as possible to halt this process before it’s too late and there is nothing left to save. We must keep our services publicly funded, publicly accountable and, instead of year on year cuts, we must demand an end to privatisation and fight for major financial investment into our services.

And as for Chief Executive Mark Henderson and his two colleagues being given a 20% pay award, spare some thoughts for the victims of your “reforms”, the kids being bunched up in bed and breakfast accommodation and guest houses, being described as care (some corporate parent you are) - and these are lucky ones! Think of the older folks facing worsening  provision in their own homes and getting a hike in charges , think about those who’ve lost a job or are about to face that threat, fantastic workers who’ve given their life to supporting our community. Do the decent thing and hand the 20% back so it can be used where it is needed. On your wages you certainly don’t need it. Now that the pay barrier has been broken by yourselves, will you be fighting all the way for all workers to get a decent rise this year or will you continue to bend your knee to government and enforce a pay cut on the rest of us? Your history tells me and thousands of others which way you’ll swing. The one really decent thing that you can do is to take a hike (not a pay related one), a long one, preferably south where your callous brand of market economics may feel more at home. (Actually not – ed.)

Come on Northumberland – Fight back! No to cuts and Closures! Stop the sell off of services!!!!