21mspread

6 THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 28, 2012 SEN-eO1-S2 [P] SEN-eO1-S2 [P] THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 28, 2012 7

As fresh savings arerevealed, AlexCampbell talks tocouncil leaders aboutthe future of services

Threat to frontline

How other savings could be made as authority looks to slash over

WHAT WAS AXED IN 2010/11 as cuts spark fear for jobs

£21m from its budget...

AUSTERITY cuts from centralGovernment have become sosevere that frontline servicescan no longer be protected,according to the city council’sl e a d e r s h i p.

Nursery education and adultsocial care are among thebiggest losers in citywide sav-ings of £21.1 million.

The authority is to lookincreasingly to private andindependent organisations toprovide care it can no longerafford in-house.

Staff will also bear the bruntas up to 250 more jobs and somesenior posts are cut, contrac-tual perks targeted for savingsand a series of departmentssubjected to cost-cuttingreviews to squeeze savings of£7.6 million.

But leaders say Governmentfunding reductions are nowunmanageable without target-ing even the services it is leg-ally required to provide.

And they believe the councilmust become ‘independent ofthe Government’ – findingways to attract new businessesand create jobs without centralfunding support.

Labour and council leaderMohammed Pervez said:“These cuts are having a hugeimpact on the quality of life ofour residents.

“We have been very vocal inour rebuttal to the Govern-ment’s cuts. They say we’re allin it together but they haveimposed bigger cuts ondeprived cities like Stoke-on-Trent – which have dependedon their grants – than theyhave on affluent areas. It istotally unfair.

“We have to become inde-pendent of the Government.It’s crucial we generate incomewithin the city and we can onlydo this if we attract businessesand raise money from the busi-ness rates they pay.

“The Government is simplynot helping us and we have todo more to find ways to pay forour services.”

Among the most controver-sial cuts is £1.7 million savingsin nursery education, whichcould slash free weekly pro-vision by half to the legal min-imum of 15 hours.

The authority will task an

independent panel, includingnational specialist Eleni Ioan-nides and children’s centrecuts campaigner Milissa Bey-dilli, to explore ways it canimprove attainment in KeyStage One despite the cuts.

Mr Pervez said: “We ’ve beenproviding 30 hours of nurserycare for three and four-year-olds and children’s centre sup-port on top.

“However, despite all thespending, the net result hasbeen that we’re at the bottom ofthe list for Key Stage One res-ults. That simply is not goodenough and something drastic-ally needs to change.

“What I want is for us tofocus on outcomes, not theamount of money we spend. Wehave to improve results and thepanel will support our reviewwith their own expertise.”

Budget proposals for 2013/14do not include any additionalinvestment proposals to sup-port the authority’s Mandatefor Change vision to createjobs. More than £4 million wasadded to the 2012/13 savingsbill for projects to kick-starteconomic growth.

But Mr Pervez said attract-ing new businesses to the cityin the face of continued spend-ing cuts remains the author-ity’s top priority.

And loaning £40 million tobuild a new Civic Centre inHanley’s emerging CentralBusiness District (CBD)remains fundamental to thestrate g y.

Mr Pervez added: “We can-not borrow £40 million to payfor services, it’s a differentbudg et.

“I know there’s a lot of mis-understanding around why wewant to go ahead with the CBD,but without it we will not beable to secure further invest-ment in our city centre.

“Jobs will be created bothduring the construction phaseand beyond.

“Selling the Spode andCivic Centre sites inStoke will raise millionsto allow the council to payback loans.”

Chief executive Johnvan de Laarschot, right,believes cuts are nowexceeding a levelthe authoritycan sustain.

He said: “It’s not easy. Weoriginally estimated saving£100 million over four yearsand to date those predictionshave been scarily accurate.

“In the earlier years it iseasier, although the

first year’s savingscame as a huge shockto the city. The set-tlement was late andwe had to make sav-ings quickly.

“The organisationunderstands there’sgoing to be continual

change and con-tinual belt-tighten-

ing. But it is very difficult.“There are still some efficiencysavings to be made by beingmore effective and deliveringmore for less but it’s starting toget tight.

“T here’s always criticismabout management posts, butin two years we’ve seen areduction of 50 per cent whichhas saved £2 million. In factfrom a strategic capacity per-spective, things are starting toget rather tight.”

Mr van de Laarschot saidmajor outsourcing cannot beruled out, adding; “We are look-ing at it, across a broad range of

services, but with a degree ofcaution and not jumping info o l h a rd i ly. ”

Councillor Dave Conway,leader of the opposition CityIndependents, raised concernsabout cuts to programmes sup-porting the long-term unem-ployed and business start-ups –both of which relate to nationaland European schemes whichhave now ended.

He said: “Everything they sayis about wanting to support jobs,but this is not going to help.

“We warned that parkingcharges at Dimensions waspennywise and pound foolish.

“Now they are cutting back onthe pool and cafe times, drivingmore people to WaterWorld,because of reduced demand.That is not going to help raisei n c o m e. ”

“There is not enough meaton the bones. A lot of the pro-posals are ambiguous to saythe least and they will have toprovide more information ifthis is going to be a properc o n s u l t at i o n . ”

The city council has alreadyannounced it will freeze coun-cil tax from April, despite need-ing to make the savings.

Councillor Abi Brown, Con-

servative leader, said: “We cau-tiously welcome the decision tofreeze tax but we will be lookingvery carefully at the budget pro-posals to see if there are otherways we can make savings.”

Yesterday, The Sentinelrevealed leaders at NewcastleBorough Council are planninga third successive council taxfreeze from April.

And Staffordshire CountyCouncil also wants to freeze thebill in the next financial year.

What do you think to theplans? Email us at letters@thesentinel.co.uk

WHAT WENT IN 2011/12

■ More than 2,000 peoplefailed to stop the closure ofTunstall Pool.The pool closed in March,2011 to save £80,000-a-yearand the building remains emptytoday. Attempts bycampaigners to reopen thepool failed because of a lack ofinterest among residents.■ More than 40 care workerslost their jobs as two carehomes were closed down tosave £1 million.Eardley House, in Bradeley,and Heathside House, inGoldenhill, both closed in2011 after elderly residentswere moved from the homes.■ Much-loved tourist attractionCity Farm opened for the lasttime in March, 2011.The farm – which had beenoperating within Bucknall Parkfor more than 30 years –played a key community role,including offering workplacements to people withlearning disabilities and playinghost to school trips.But the attraction was closedto save £143,000-a-year.City Farm attracted 89,600visitors throughout 2010.■ Shelton Pool has now been

demolished after being closeddown in March, 2011.Campaigners fought to savethe popular pool from the axe.But councillors approved theclosure to save £82,000-a-year.■ Stoke Recreation Centre hasstill not been sold – despitebeing closed down by thecouncil in March, 2011.The Booth Street centre –which attracted around 34,000users-a-year – was closed tosave £39,000.The centre remains on themarket as its long-term futureis being reviewed.■ Failed tourist attractionCeramica was closed downafter the council pulled its£150,000-a-year funding.The Millennium project hadbeen expected to attract100,000 visitors a year toBurslem.But it opened four years latein 2003 and fewer than 8,000people had visited themuseum each year since April2007.■ Libraries at Burslem andFenton were shut to save£191,000-a-year. A mobilelibrary service was also cut.

■ All six of Stoke-on-Trent’smain public libraries – atTunstall, Hanley, Longton,Meir, Stoke and Bentilee –have been closed at the ‘leastbusiest’ times. Plans for a fulllibrary service at Blurton werealso scrapped. The overall plansaved £100,000.■ Campaigners lost their fightto save Barlaston’sWedgwood Memorial Collegefrom closure.The move saved £28,000-a-year and allowed the councilto escape paying an additional£160,000 subsidy needed tokeep operating the college.Campaigners are still drawingup business plans to try toreopen the centre before it issold by the council.■ Pensioners and the disablednow have to pay to travel onStoke-on-Trent’s buses before9.30am. The councilintroduced the charge, despiteOAPs and the disabled inneighbouring Staffordshirereceiving free 24-hour travel.The decision has proved sounpopular that First Bus istrying to win back passengers

with a trial £1 fare before9.30am.■ Efficiency savings weremade in bereavement care,trading standards, registrarsand environmental health.There was also reducedspending on pest control,while teams who respond tolate-night noise complaintsare now only available atweekends during the summer.The whole package saved£160,000.■ Four dedicated town centreregeneration managers –covering Burslem, Stoke andLongton – were lost to save£77,000. Their work wasswallowed up by the council’sregeneration department.■ Organic waste recyclingcollections are nowsuspended between Novemberand March every year withresidents told to home-compost the rubbish or dumpit in with general waste tosave £170,000-a-year.■ Six jobs were lost asspending on public relationsand communications were cutto save £200,000.

Further savings nowbeing considered for2013/14 include:■ Cutting gym staffwith cafe and poolopening hours reducedat Dimensions, left, andcreche opening hoursreduced at FentonManor;■ Shutting morebuildings anddownsizing into ‘hubs’ahead of the council’scity centre relocationwith repairs andalterations bills scaledback to save £610,000;■ Freezing councillors’

allowances in line withthe ongoing pay freezefor staff to save£100,000;■ Back office savingsof up to £734,000through courier serviceand administrationcuts, and reductions in

storage and paper;■ Reviewing PR,communications andmarketing, includingOur City magazine, with£25,000 consultantWestco to recommendcuts of £350,000;■ Withdrawingautomatic grants for‘Live’ concerts, theStoke-on-Trent MusicFestival and MakeSome Noise charity andinviting groups to bidfor cash from acommunity fund;■ Increasing feescharged for venue hire,

exhibition guides andmerchandise at thePotteries andGladstone Potterymuseums, left;■ Reducing openinghours at the city’stourist informationcentre;■ Saving £1.5 millionfrom the way thecouncil pays contractsand buys goods andservices;■ Cutting back on LGVdrivers, assistant parkkeepers and groundsstaff, as well asreviewing payments

made to staff who arekept on standby, tohelp save £2.5 million;■ Relocating theBurslem gymnasticscentre to Dimensions;■ Withholding fundingfor events such as theTour Of Britain, above,

and attempting tocover the shortfall byraising corporatesponsorship;■ Trimming £70,000from the cost of payingfull-time trade unionrepresentativesto reflect plummetingstaff levels;■ Saving £485,000 invulnerable children’sservices by focusingspending on priorityareas;■ Reductions of morethan £700,000 forprojects designed totackle unemployment

and support businessstart-ups in line withnational funding andahead of Government-backed projects;■ Cutting waste sentto landfill, raising morecash from collectingtrade waste andspeeding up bin roundsusing sat-navs andgadgets to save£140,000;■ Redesigning somedepartments, cuttingHR, and completing thechildren and adults’services merger to save£1.8 million.

Headteachers may have to dip into schoolreserves to pay for their crossing patrolsCUTS could see lollipopwardens withdrawn fromschools which have a nearbypedestrian crossing – unlessheadteachers find money fromtheir own budgets to pay forthem.Parents and wardens yesterdayraised concerns about the cost-cutting plans, claimingchildren’s lives will be put atrisk.Janet Williams, a crossingpatrol warden of 20 years, fromWilliams Court, in Pittshill,works at Whitfield ValleyPrimary School in Fegg Hayes.The 59-year-old, who earnsabout £249 for her 10 hours aweek, said: “The pupils at thisschool need me. Some of themare very young and they walkthemselves to school. You seekids as little as eight or ninecrossing the road here.“The cars race along this roadand even though there’s acrossing, sometimes they ignoreit and park across the lines.“They threaten to do this everynow and then but the parentsalways protest. If I lost my jobhere I don’t know what I woulddo.”

Janet’s daughter StephanieWilliams, a mum-of-five, ofChell Heath, added: “My mumworks really hard to look afterthe kids when they cross theroad.“My eldest children walk toschool every day and I wouldnot be happy if we didn’t knowthey were being kept an eye onby the roads.”Lollipop man of 10 years PeterChadwick, pictured left, ofHuron Grove, who helps pupilsfrom Trentham High School,cross the road, said: “The firstthing you think about ischildren’s lives being put atrisk.“It won’t be fair if some parts ofthe city can afford it and otherscan’t.”Abbey Ford, aged 17, of FeggHayes, walks her five-year-oldbrother to school.She added: “He’s only five now.“But eventually he will walkhimself to school.“I can’t understand why anyonewould risk the safety of thekids.“They’re only little and ifsomeone got hit by a car itwould be a tragedy.”

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