COUNCIL CUTS ARE TORY CHOICE

The job cuts proposed at Cornwall Council are the choice of the Tory, Independent and Mebyon Kernow alliance, not the result of a cut in government funding, says Jude Robinson, Parliamentary candidate for Camborne, Redruth & Hayle, speaking on behalf of Cornwall Labour Party.

"Cornwall is getting a 4.5% increase in grant this year from the Labour government. That is more than £9 million more, it is above inflation and it is again amongst the highest increases in the country.

"Listening to the Tory 'spin', people get the impression the cuts are caused by government but the opposite is true.

"Government has increased the grant to Cornwall year on year and people in Cornwall were promised year on year savings from the change to Unitary status. Yet council tax is going up and the Tories are playing the same old tune of 'savage cuts'.

Cornwall has been slammed by recent reports for poor performance in Children's Services, Housing, Adult Social Care and Fire Services. Financial controls have also been criticised and the handling of Newquay Airport.

The 4.5% funding increase this year recognises that a Labour Government has maintained its commitment to a real-terms increase in funding for local authorities - the job loses are not caused by a shortage of Government funding for local services in the coming year, these are local choices usually taken by Tory and Lib Dem Councils.

Some councils, mostly Tory, are using the recession as a cover and are leaping to cut front line services before they've taken the hard decisions about efficiencies, sharing key staff with other authorities or for example the health service, shared services and joint commissioning

The Tories at the start of last year said they would cut £5bn from government budgets including £1bn from CLG budget - this would have put pressure on council budgets and increased council tax, not only through the CLG budget but cuts to police budget would also put pressure on council tax

A report commissioned by the Government will be published on Monday by a task force headed up by local government leaders (Richard Leese, Manchester and Steve Bullock, Lewisham) to outline actions that every authority can and should take to make efficiencies which protect and improve front-line services