£35 million in cuts to Stoke-on-Trent
The news from the Sentinel that £35million is being slashed from the council budget comes as grave news to the citizens of Stoke-on-Trent. Whilst we welcome news that the council has forgone an extra £6million in cuts and not closed the children’s centres after a public outcry, those centres are still having £2.25 million cut from the budgets with 25 full-time staff sacked. The scale of the cuts shows that it is no time to be complacent. To summarize the confirmed cuts:
- £2.25 million cut from the budgets of children’s centres, 25 full-time staff sacked
- Tunstall and Shelton pools closed
- Fenton and Burslem libraries closed
- Ceramica, the tourist attraction exploring the past and future of the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent is closed
- City Farm in Bucknall with the loss of five full-time jobs
- Willfield Community Centre, in Bentilee closed
- Two care homes: Heathside House, Goldenhill, and Eardley House, Bradeley closed
- Child and adolescent mental health services having a £200,000 cut
- Council’s PR and communications budget cut by £360,000 with the loss of eight jobs
- Free parking on Sundays will be axed
Chief executive John van de Laarschot, the chief executive of Stoke-on-Trent City council was putting it mildly when he summarises with:
“It does appear that Stoke-on-Trent, along with other cities with high levels of deprivation, have fared pretty badly.”
He fails to mention the Tories’ deliberate class warfare of council cuts with the richest councils receiving the lowest cuts and the poorest, like Stoke, receiving the highest:
“… Dorset gets a 0.25% increase in funding and Windsor and Maidenhead, West Sussex, Wokingham, Richmond upon Thames and Buckinghamshire all get cuts of 1% or below”
However John van de Laarschot need not worry as the former Coca-cola and Pepsi manager, earning £195,000 a year will not be feeling the pinch like the rest of us.
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