A serious danger exists that new austerity measures will so denude the services of Wiltshire Council that they will be open to legal challenge from council tax payers to carry out their statutory duties.
Other services that rely on volunteer support will just fall away as people realise that they are unfairly subsidising the council in its duty of care.
The warning came today (Friday) from David Pollitt, Wiltshire’s sole UKIP councillor and parliamentary candidate standing against Tory MP Claire Perry at next year’s general election.
In the wake of what he described as a “fairly neutral” Budget – he believes the coalition government is “saving up the goodies to give away before the election” – he says it is local government that is suffering.
“People don’t realise that half of the austerity measures haven’t kicked in yet,” 57-year-old Mr Pollitt told Marlborough News Online. “We are only just beginning to see the effect of the government’s cutbacks.
“I was at the Melksham Area Board last night discussing our budgets for next year. All the figures we have been working to have gone down 40 per cent. The amount of money the board has for helping the people who are our partners in the various volunteer networks has been drastically reduced.
“If you look at the Wiltshire Council business plan it is basically relying on the volunteer networks to pick up the slack in the areas where the council can no longer fund them.”
And he added: “I can see the serious danger on the horizon of people protesting that the council has a duty of care and that we are not fulfilling our statutory duties. We’re not there yet but with another £23 million coming off the council’s funding we will be facing difficulties.
“Volunteers were saying last night that people are just going to walk away. People were saying they have put in years of our own time and money and it is getting crazy now that they are basically subsidising Wiltshire Council.
“There is a danger of us losing their volunteer resource that we’ve got because people feel they have been taken advantaged of. The government and the council are just assuming that the people are going to take up the slack in the cutback of services and that situation can’t go on forever.
“We’re not at that point yet but there is a serious danger that it will happen because in areas like child care and adult care, where we do have a statutory duty, they will obviously have to take priority and things like libraries, youth services, sports facilities they will just fall by the wayside.”
The Budget exposed other dangers, according to Nick Fogg, one of Marlborough’s two Wiltshire councillors.
“While it contained some creative and imaginative innovations, particularly in the area of pensions and featured a necessary re-focusing on investment and exports, it failed to address the most vital issue facing this country today,” he told Marlborough News Online.
“That is the staggering levels of Government borrowing and debt, which is spiralling even beyond that of Greece. Failure to bring that under control will inevitably bring a further round of cuts.
“It is difficult to see how local government could continue to fulfil its statutory obligations under such circumstances.”
And independent Wiltshire Councillor Jeff Osborn pointed out: “It was very much a political Budget, especially aimed at older, squeezed middle section of population, who are possible UKIP defectors from Tories.
“Regretfully, the hands of local government remain pretty much tied. If this sector was granted greater freedom much more could be delivered with social house building, training and apprenticeships.
“The council is getting a bit of extra money for pot holes and flood relief but the austerity straight-jacket remains on local government. We are promised years more of austerity as the demographic demands on local government services increase.
“A few more straws like this and the camel’s back must break.
Yes, a very tactical political budget but one that does little or nothing to solve the structural crisis of local government, Wiltshire Council included.
“One thing is certain — there will be more cuts coming out of County Hall in the years ahead.”
