Waltham Forest council revealed in September that it has more than doubled its original cuts estimate to £65 million.
The announcement came as councillors met to determine how the latest wave of savings would be made. Only £2 million of cuts were agreed at the meeting, however one of the moves confirmed was the controversial restructuring of town hall senior management which will lead to the loss of nearly 100 jobs. The council says if it doesn’t act fast in accordance with the government’s tightening of budget constraints, it will face mounting debts that would lead to many more redundancies.
As he announced the new estimate, Council Leader Councillor Chris Robbins stated that the initial £30 million figure had to be revised when the government released further details of the extent to which public spending must be reduced. Labour councillors at the meeting heavily criticised the rapidity with which the government is asking savings to be made. Conservatives in the council were however quick to rebut, arguing that it was the previous Labour administration’s spending that lead to these cuts being necessary.
Councillors, who warned that frontline services may be affected by cuts, were lobbied by campaigners as they arrived at the town hall meeting. Members of local Trade Unions and campaign group, the Waltham Forest Anti-cuts Union, claimed the damage of initial cuts is already being felt and that further savings could lead to crisis in the community.
In the wake of the meeting fears are specifically being expressed on behalf of the borough’s young people. Planned reductions in admin staff in social services could put vulnerable children at risk as social workers will need to take on the additional responsibility of paperwork. It has also been reported that careers services will see a forty per-cent reduction in their workforce; this could prove critical for young people at a time of such high unemployment. Unions are calling on the council’s Labour leadership to do more to prevent these measures.
