Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Cuts, cuts and more cuts to the services we rely on. But not to spin
Buried on this page are the planned Council 'savings' for the next 3 years, which involve axing around a quarter of council jobs - mainly those of frontline staff, especially in adults and childrens services.
To be discussed or not (if anyone has time to read through and assess the detail of what is planned) at the Cabinet meeting Tuesday, 16th December, 2014 6.30 pm (Item 7.)
But apparently no cuts to the spin we will be subjected to, as there are currently adverts for these newly created jobs in the propaganda sector:
Consultation Co-ordinator £40k p.a.
Three x Policy & Equalities Officer 40k p.a. for the new 'Policy & Strategy team'
and a new Strategy Officer 40k p.a. for the new Policy & Strategy team
There's well over £200k that could be saved in one easy move.
P.S. to be clear I'm in favour of consultation, communication and equalities, but if you look at what the roles involve you have to ask why these new highly paid posts are being created at a time when so many vital services face the axe. Wrong priorities.
Tags for Forum Posts: Council, budget, cuts, jobs, savings, services
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Sometimes it's in response to Clive - a sitting Councillor (representing all the electors in his ward, not just those who share his 'oppositional' stance') who surely ought to know better.
Chris, what's this supposed to mean exactly?!
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Today's (15 December) edition of Children & Young People Now magazine has a useful summary of proposed cuts to Haringey's Children’s, Youth and Social Care budgets. Unlike the Council itself which prefers the weasel-word “savings”, the article in CYPN by Laura McCardle, includes the more accurate words: "cuts" and "slash". She refers to: "plans to slash children’s services by £16.7m over the next three years.”
“Haringey Council has to save £70m by 2017/18. A series of council documents due to go before a meeting of the cabinet tomorrow (Tuesday 16 December), reveal that the plans will put 164 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs at risk.
The council’s looked-after children department is set to feel the brunt of the cuts with a proposed saving of £5.1m by 2017/18, while the social care budget is set to be reduced by £2.6m. The proposed savings will put 66 FTE posts across both services at risk.
Meanwhile, up to 50 FTE posts could be lost from the youth services department, which includes the authority’s youth offending service, as a result of a proposed £2.1m budget cut.
The council’s special educational needs and early years budgets are also set to face budget cuts, with savings of £1.5m and £1.4m, respectively, earmarked for each of the services.
A council report reveals that, in addition to reducing workforce numbers, the authority will seek to make the savings by "remodelling" a number of services, including children’s centres and youth services.The council’s "Building a Stronger Haringey Together" report shows that the proposed savings have been put forward as part of wider plans to reduce the council’s overall budget by £70m over the next three years.
At tomorrow's full cabinet meeting, councillors are also expected to approve a consultation on the proposals, which, if backed, will launch on Wednesday and run until 16 January.
Recommendations on how to make the savings are set to be agreed by the council on 23 February.
Councillor Ann Waters, cabinet member for children and families, said the council is committed to giving children and young people the best possible start in life.
She said: "Our Outstanding for All commitment underlines our determination that every child and young person in Haringey will have the best start in life and access to the best opportunities, including world class education.
"However, it's important that we're open about the fact that being forced to save £70m from our budget during the next three years will mean that difficult decisions have to be made in Haringey.
"We're committed to an open and transparent decision making process - that's why we've published all of our proposals now."______________________________________
I'm sure that with its well known and praiseworthy commitment to more openness and transparency than ever, our council will also have published the detail and thinking behind the "remodelling" and other alternatives which will lead to "Building a Stronger Haringey Together". But I haven't yet found it. So I'd welcome help from anyone who knows.
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Permalink Reply by Abi on
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Interesting discussion on this topic on LBC at the moment (Clive Bull's show). Apparently most councils have already cut their newsletter/magazine/propaganda rag. Is this true?? I was annoyed that Haringey was still paying for one, but I had no idea it was actually going out on a limb and against the general trend in doing this.
Why??
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Abster I had to do a double take at first because LBC are the initials of the Liberal Democrat trio in Highgate Ward (Liz/Bob/Clive) and then I thought I'd been involuntarily merged with Labour Cllr. Gideon Bull.
The reason HP should be reduced IMO is four-fold:
- it's largely a waste of money, that few residents actively want. It could go to an opt-in subscription (that'd be a test, wouldn't it?), either for an emailed PDF or a printed version.
- because it represents unfair (tax-payer-paid) competition both for the Council Minority Group and for advertisers in local newspapers, that are struggling.
- in a time of severe cut-backs, it should be one of the council's lowest priorities (don't tell us how good a job the council is doing: just do a good job!)
- it symbolises and represents a small part of the waste in the Council's big Communications Department (this also is responsible for Council Consultations)
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My 'why'? was standing for a different question for the one you've answered, but there's certainly no harm in re-stating those points.
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Abster, your 'why?" is best answered by a rep from the Majority Group. I did hear an explanation (for the existence and character of HP) offered some years ago from a Cabinet Lead Member at an Area Forum. It was to balance the "negative" image of the council portrayed in the local press.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Well Clive, as I haven't read the local press in years and as my negative experiences come from what I see and hear I think money would be better spent on issuing sunglasses and earplugs.
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There's a far superior high-tech option, Michael. You simply need a pair of these handy goggles.
Here's Cllr Virgil Realidee (formerly known as Alan Strickland) the cabinet member for what used to be called "regeneration".
These high-tech headsets give the wearer a fully immersive experience of the many wonderful new schemes which have totally transformed Tottenham. And, as you can see, the sets let us read the wearer's thoughts as they enjoy the thrilling new vistas.
Best of all, not a single home is actually demolished or small business snuffed out.
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