Cost Cutting Affects the Vulnerable

2.55.20pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 1st Nov 2006

Conservatives at Essex County Council are planning a series of cuts that are already biting into services provided for the more vulnerable members of the community. Cuts in library facilities have already taken place and there are proposals to drastically cut mobile library services. A proposed sell off of Greyfriars, an adult education centre in Colchester, will result in a nursery for children with special needs being put out on the street.

Cllr Theresa Higgins, Liberal Democrats spokesman for community services, said: "Despite Conservative claims to the contrary, it is becoming apparent that a massive cost cutting exercise undertaken by the county administration, is hitting the most vulnerable people the hardest. Council Leader Lord Hanningfield stated that his publicity grabbing bid to make £100m worth of savings would not affect front line services, but that is clearly not the case.

"We have seen all magazines and journals taken out of libraries in Essex, a valuable social resource for many people. Additionally the mobile library service looks set for a drastic reduction in the number of routes it takes each week. In the case of the magazines, neither councillors or the public were consulted and although there is a public consultation due on mobile libraries, the remit of the consultation is narrow.

"In Colchester, a long established education centre is being sold off and services merged with another centre, which will result in sitting tenants being evicted. In this case that is a hospital radio and a special needs nursery centre that the community has spent a huge amount of money adapting. The nursery will not be able to find another comparable home in the town, and we have no idea where the children will go.

"Whilst we support efforts to save money on red tape and other council backroom activities, we cannot tolerate a real reduction in the frontline services being provided for the public, especially when they affect the people least able to help themselves", Cllr Higgins continued.