Newcastle City Council ‘ready to cut 1,300 jobs’
One of two stories about cities in this week’s rural Hinterland. Interesting because it shows the feelings and challenges on the other side of the rural/urban divide in terms of local Government funding. I think Newcastle is a fab place and it has a major service centre role stretching economically into Durham and Northumberland. The problems it is facing are therefore a worry for all of us who understand that rural and urban places are inextricably linked.
“A North East council is set to cut at least 1,300 jobs as it looks to reduce its budget by £90 million. Newcastle City Council has outlined proposals, which will also see ten libraries close, equal to a cut of £760 for each household in the city. Described by the council as one of its “darkest days”, the authority has blamed a “grossly unfair” cut to their Government grant. Leader of Newcastle City Council, Councillor Nick Forbes, said: “This is one of the darkest days for public service in Newcastle. Cutting services is not what I went into politics to do. “The cut in Government grant is grossly unfair, at a time when more and more families are turning to us for help. Financially, this has put us in an impossible position from which there is no escape.”
Not much balm in terms of these problems from CLG: “A Communities and Local Government Spokesman said: “Council funding is distributed in a fair and sustainable way across all parts of the country – rural and urban, metropolitan and shire and higher in those parts of the country with the highest level of need.”