6 THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 28, 2012 SEN-eO1-S2 [P] SEN-eO1-S2 [P] THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 28, 2012 7 As fresh savings are revealed, Alex Campbell talks to council leaders about the future of services Threat to frontline How other savings could be made as authority looks to slash over WHAT WAS AXED IN 2010/11 as cuts spark fear for jobs £21m from its budget... AUSTERITY cuts from central Government have become so severe that frontline services can no longer be protected, according to the city council’s leadership. Nursery education and adult social care are among the biggest losers in citywide sav- ings of £21.1 million. The authority is to look increasingly to private and independent organisations to provide care it can no longer afford in-house. Staff will also bear the brunt as up to 250 more jobs and some senior posts are cut, contrac- tual perks targeted for savings and a series of departments subjected to cost-cutting reviews to squeeze savings of £7.6 million. But leaders say Government funding reductions are now unmanageable without target- ing even the services it is leg- ally required to provide. And they believe the council must become ‘independent of the Government’ – finding ways to attract new businesses and create jobs without central funding support. Labour and council leader Mohammed Pervez said: “These cuts are having a huge impact on the quality of life of our residents. “We have been very vocal in our rebuttal to the Govern- ment’s cuts. They say we’re all in it together but they have imposed bigger cuts on deprived cities like Stoke-on- Trent – which have depended on their grants – than they have on affluent areas. It is totally unfair. “We have to become inde- pendent of the Government. It’s crucial we generate income within the city and we can only do this if we attract businesses and raise money from the busi- ness rates they pay. “The Government is simply not helping us and we have to do more to find ways to pay for our services.” Among the most controver- sial cuts is £1.7 million savings in nursery education, which could slash free weekly pro- vision by half to the legal min- imum of 15 hours. The authority will task an independent panel, including national specialist Eleni Ioan- nides and children’s centre cuts campaigner Milissa Bey- dilli, to explore ways it can improve attainment in Key Stage One despite the cuts. Mr Pervez said: “We’ve been providing 30 hours of nursery care for three and four-year- olds and children’s centre sup- port on top. “However, despite all the spending, the net result has been that we’re at the bottom of the list for Key Stage One res- ults. That simply is not good enough and something drastic- ally needs to change. “What I want is for us to focus on outcomes, not the amount of money we spend. We have to improve results and the panel will support our review with their own expertise.” Budget proposals for 2013/14 do not include any additional investment proposals to sup- port the authority’s Mandate for Change vision to create jobs. More than £4 million was added to the 2012/13 savings bill for projects to kick-start economic growth. But Mr Pervez said attract- ing new businesses to the city in the face of continued spend- ing cuts remains the author- ity’s top priority. And loaning £40 million to build a new Civic Centre in Hanley’s emerging Central Business District (CBD) remains fundamental to the strategy. Mr Pervez added: “We can- not borrow £40 million to pay for services, it’s a different budget. “I know there’s a lot of mis- understanding around why we want to go ahead with the CBD, but without it we will not be able to secure further invest- ment in our city centre. “Jobs will be created both during the construction phase and beyond. “Selling the Spode and Civic Centre sites in Stoke will raise millions to allow the council to pay back loans.” Chief executive John van de Laarschot, right, believes cuts are now exceeding a level the authority can sustain. He said: “It’s not easy. We originally estimated saving £100 million over four years and to date those predictions have been scarily accurate. “In the earlier years it is easier, although the first year’s savings came as a huge shock to the city. The set- tlement was late and we had to make sav- ings quickly. “The organisation understands there’s going to be continual change and con- tinual belt-tighten- ing. But it is very difficult. “There are still some efficiency savings to be made by being more effective and delivering more for less but it’s starting to get tight. “There’s always criticism about management posts, but in two years we’ve seen a reduction of 50 per cent which has saved £2 million. In fact from a strategic capacity per- spective, things are starting to get rather tight.” Mr van de Laarschot said major outsourcing cannot be ruled out, adding; “We are look- ing at it, across a broad range of services, but with a degree of caution and not jumping in foolhardily.” Councillor Dave Conway, leader of the opposition City Independents, raised concerns about cuts to programmes sup- porting the long-term unem- ployed and business start-ups – both of which relate to national and European schemes which have now ended. He said: “Everything they say is about wanting to support jobs, but this is not going to help. “We warned that parking charges at Dimensions was pennywise and pound foolish. “Now they are cutting back on the pool and cafe times, driving more people to WaterWorld, because of reduced demand. That is not going to help raise income.” “There is not enough meat on the bones. A lot of the pro- posals are ambiguous to say the least and they will have to provide more information if this is going to be a proper consultation.” The city council has already announced it will freeze coun- cil tax from April, despite need- ing to make the savings. Councillor Abi Brown, Con- servative leader, said: “We cau- tiously welcome the decision to freeze tax but we will be looking very carefully at the budget pro- posals to see if there are other ways we can make savings.” Yesterday, The Sentinel revealed leaders at Newcastle Borough Council are planning a third successive council tax freeze from April. And Staffordshire County Council also wants to freeze the bill in the next financial year. What do you think to the plans? Email us at letters@ thesentinel.co.uk WHAT WENT IN 2011/12 ■ More than 2,000 people failed to stop the closure of Tunstall Pool. The pool closed in March, 2011 to save £80,000-a-year and the building remains empty today. Attempts by campaigners to reopen the pool failed because of a lack of interest among residents. ■ More than 40 care workers lost their jobs as two care homes were closed down to save £1 million. Eardley House, in Bradeley, and Heathside House, in Goldenhill, both closed in 2011 after elderly residents were moved from the homes. ■ Much-loved tourist attraction City Farm opened for the last time in March, 2011. The farm – which had been operating within Bucknall Park for more than 30 years – played a key community role, including offering work placements to people with learning disabilities and playing host to school trips. But the attraction was closed to save £143,000-a-year. City Farm attracted 89,600 visitors throughout 2010. ■ Shelton Pool has now been demolished after being closed down in March, 2011. Campaigners fought to save the popular pool from the axe. But councillors approved the closure to save £82,000-a- year. ■ Stoke Recreation Centre has still not been sold – despite being closed down by the council in March, 2011. The Booth Street centre – which attracted around 34,000 users-a-year – was closed to save £39,000. The centre remains on the market as its long-term future is being reviewed. ■ Failed tourist attraction Ceramica was closed down after the council pulled its £150,000-a-year funding. The Millennium project had been expected to attract 100,000 visitors a year to Burslem. But it opened four years late in 2003 and fewer than 8,000 people had visited the museum each year since April 2007. ■ Libraries at Burslem and Fenton were shut to save £191,000-a-year. A mobile library service was also cut. ■ All six of Stoke-on-Trent’s main public libraries – at Tunstall, Hanley, Longton, Meir, Stoke and Bentilee – have been closed at the ‘least busiest’ times. Plans for a full library service at Blurton were also scrapped. The overall plan saved £100,000. ■ Campaigners lost their fight to save Barlaston’s Wedgwood Memorial College from closure. The move saved £28,000-a- year and allowed the council to escape paying an additional £160,000 subsidy needed to keep operating the college. Campaigners are still drawing up business plans to try to reopen the centre before it is sold by the council. ■ Pensioners and the disabled now have to pay to travel on Stoke-on-Trent’s buses before 9.30am. The council introduced the charge, despite OAPs and the disabled in neighbouring Staffordshire receiving free 24-hour travel. The decision has proved so unpopular that First Bus is trying to win back passengers with a trial £1 fare before 9.30am. ■ Efficiency savings were made in bereavement care, trading standards, registrars and environmental health. There was also reduced spending on pest control, while teams who respond to late-night noise complaints are now only available at weekends during the summer. The whole package saved £160,000. ■ Four dedicated town centre regeneration managers – covering Burslem, Stoke and Longton – were lost to save £77,000. Their work was swallowed up by the council’s regeneration department. ■ Organic waste recycling collections are now suspended between November and March every year with residents told to home- compost the rubbish or dump it in with general waste to save £170,000-a-year. ■ Six jobs were lost as spending on public relations and communications were cut to save £200,000. Further savings now being considered for 2013/14 include: ■ Cutting gym staff with cafe and pool opening hours reduced at Dimensions, left, and creche opening hours reduced at Fenton Manor; ■ Shutting more buildings and downsizing into ‘hubs’ ahead of the council’s city centre relocation with repairs and alterations bills scaled back to save £610,000; ■ Freezing councillors’ allowances in line with the ongoing pay freeze for staff to save £100,000; ■ Back office savings of up to £734,000 through courier service and administration cuts, and reductions in storage and paper; ■ Reviewing PR, communications and marketing, including Our City magazine, with £25,000 consultant Westco to recommend cuts of £350,000; ■ Withdrawing automatic grants for ‘Live’ concerts, the Stoke-on-Trent Music Festival and Make Some Noise charity and inviting groups to bid for cash from a community fund; ■ Increasing fees charged for venue hire, exhibition guides and merchandise at the Potteries and Gladstone Pottery museums, left; ■ Reducing opening hours at the city’s tourist information centre; ■ Saving £1.5 million from the way the council pays contracts and buys goods and services; ■ Cutting back on LGV drivers, assistant park keepers and grounds staff, as well as reviewing payments made to staff who are kept on standby, to help save £2.5 million; ■ Relocating the Burslem gymnastics centre to Dimensions; ■ Withholding funding for events such as the Tour Of Britain, above, and attempting to cover the shortfall by raising corporate sponsorship; ■ Trimming £70,000 from the cost of paying full-time trade union representatives to reflect plummeting staff levels; ■ Saving £485,000 in vulnerable children’s services by focusing spending on priority areas; ■ Reductions of more than £700,000 for projects designed to tackle unemployment and support business start-ups in line with national funding and ahead of Government- backed projects; ■ Cutting waste sent to landfill, raising more cash from collecting trade waste and speeding up bin rounds using sat-navs and gadgets to save £140,000; ■ Redesigning some departments, cutting HR, and completing the children and adults’ services merger to save £1.8 million. Headteachers may have to dip into school reserves to pay for their crossing patrols CUTS could see lollipop wardens withdrawn from schools which have a nearby pedestrian crossing – unless headteachers find money from their own budgets to pay for them. Parents and wardens yesterday raised concerns about the cost- cutting plans, claiming children’s lives will be put at risk. Janet Williams, a crossing patrol warden of 20 years, from Williams Court, in Pittshill, works at Whitfield Valley Primary School in Fegg Hayes. The 59-year-old, who earns about £249 for her 10 hours a week, said: “The pupils at this school need me. Some of them are very young and they walk themselves to school. You see kids as little as eight or nine crossing the road here. “The cars race along this road and even though there’s a crossing, sometimes they ignore it and park across the lines. “They threaten to do this every now and then but the parents always protest. If I lost my job here I don’t know what I would do.” Janet’s daughter Stephanie Williams, a mum-of-five, of Chell Heath, added: “My mum works really hard to look after the kids when they cross the road. “My eldest children walk to school every day and I would not be happy if we didn’t know they were being kept an eye on by the roads.” Lollipop man of 10 years Peter Chadwick, pictured left, of Huron Grove, who helps pupils from Trentham High School, cross the road, said: “The first thing you think about is children’s lives being put at risk. “It won’t be fair if some parts of the city can afford it and others can’t.” Abbey Ford, aged 17, of Fegg Hayes, walks her five-year-old brother to school. She added: “He’s only five now. “But eventually he will walk himself to school. “I can’t understand why anyone would risk the safety of the kids. “They’re only little and if someone got hit by a car it would be a tragedy.” 213 Liverpool Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 9HW T: 01782 626177 Follow us on Facebook www.fortywinksbedcentre.com NOW £199 NOTHING BEATS A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP Your Local Family Run Bed Specialists With Over 40 Beds On Display In Store OPEN SUNDAYS 4’6 Memory Foam and Sprung Divan Set with SUEDE BASE ©NM We are Here
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6 THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 28, 2012 SEN-eO1-S2 [P] SEN-eO1-S2 [P] THE SENTINEL Wednesday November 28, 2012 7
As fresh savings arerevealed, AlexCampbell talks tocouncil leaders aboutthe future of services
Threat to frontline
How other savings could be made as authority looks to slash over
WHAT WAS AXED IN 2010/11 as cuts spark fear for jobs
£21m from its budget...
AUSTERITY cuts from centralGovernment have become sosevere that frontline servicescan no longer be protected,according to the city council’sl e a d e r s h i p.
Nursery education and adultsocial care are among thebiggest losers in citywide sav-ings of £21.1 million.
The authority is to lookincreasingly to private andindependent organisations toprovide care it can no longerafford in-house.
Staff will also bear the bruntas up to 250 more jobs and somesenior posts are cut, contrac-tual perks targeted for savingsand a series of departmentssubjected to cost-cuttingreviews to squeeze savings of£7.6 million.
But leaders say Governmentfunding reductions are nowunmanageable without target-ing even the services it is leg-ally required to provide.
And they believe the councilmust become ‘independent ofthe Government’ – findingways to attract new businessesand create jobs without centralfunding support.
Labour and council leaderMohammed Pervez said:“These cuts are having a hugeimpact on the quality of life ofour residents.
“We have been very vocal inour rebuttal to the Govern-ment’s cuts. They say we’re allin it together but they haveimposed bigger cuts ondeprived cities like Stoke-on-Trent – which have dependedon their grants – than theyhave on affluent areas. It istotally unfair.
“We have to become inde-pendent of the Government.It’s crucial we generate incomewithin the city and we can onlydo this if we attract businessesand raise money from the busi-ness rates they pay.
“The Government is simplynot helping us and we have todo more to find ways to pay forour services.”
Among the most controver-sial cuts is £1.7 million savingsin nursery education, whichcould slash free weekly pro-vision by half to the legal min-imum of 15 hours.
The authority will task an
independent panel, includingnational specialist Eleni Ioan-nides and children’s centrecuts campaigner Milissa Bey-dilli, to explore ways it canimprove attainment in KeyStage One despite the cuts.
Mr Pervez said: “We ’ve beenproviding 30 hours of nurserycare for three and four-year-olds and children’s centre sup-port on top.
“However, despite all thespending, the net result hasbeen that we’re at the bottom ofthe list for Key Stage One res-ults. That simply is not goodenough and something drastic-ally needs to change.
“What I want is for us tofocus on outcomes, not theamount of money we spend. Wehave to improve results and thepanel will support our reviewwith their own expertise.”
Budget proposals for 2013/14do not include any additionalinvestment proposals to sup-port the authority’s Mandatefor Change vision to createjobs. More than £4 million wasadded to the 2012/13 savingsbill for projects to kick-starteconomic growth.
But Mr Pervez said attract-ing new businesses to the cityin the face of continued spend-ing cuts remains the author-ity’s top priority.
And loaning £40 million tobuild a new Civic Centre inHanley’s emerging CentralBusiness District (CBD)remains fundamental to thestrate g y.
Mr Pervez added: “We can-not borrow £40 million to payfor services, it’s a differentbudg et.
“I know there’s a lot of mis-understanding around why wewant to go ahead with the CBD,but without it we will not beable to secure further invest-ment in our city centre.
“Jobs will be created bothduring the construction phaseand beyond.
“Selling the Spode andCivic Centre sites inStoke will raise millionsto allow the council to payback loans.”
Chief executive Johnvan de Laarschot, right,believes cuts are nowexceeding a levelthe authoritycan sustain.
He said: “It’s not easy. Weoriginally estimated saving£100 million over four yearsand to date those predictionshave been scarily accurate.
“In the earlier years it iseasier, although the
first year’s savingscame as a huge shockto the city. The set-tlement was late andwe had to make sav-ings quickly.
“The organisationunderstands there’sgoing to be continual
change and con-tinual belt-tighten-
ing. But it is very difficult.“There are still some efficiencysavings to be made by beingmore effective and deliveringmore for less but it’s starting toget tight.
“T here’s always criticismabout management posts, butin two years we’ve seen areduction of 50 per cent whichhas saved £2 million. In factfrom a strategic capacity per-spective, things are starting toget rather tight.”
Mr van de Laarschot saidmajor outsourcing cannot beruled out, adding; “We are look-ing at it, across a broad range of
services, but with a degree ofcaution and not jumping info o l h a rd i ly. ”
Councillor Dave Conway,leader of the opposition CityIndependents, raised concernsabout cuts to programmes sup-porting the long-term unem-ployed and business start-ups –both of which relate to nationaland European schemes whichhave now ended.
He said: “Everything they sayis about wanting to support jobs,but this is not going to help.
“We warned that parkingcharges at Dimensions waspennywise and pound foolish.
“Now they are cutting back onthe pool and cafe times, drivingmore people to WaterWorld,because of reduced demand.That is not going to help raisei n c o m e. ”
“There is not enough meaton the bones. A lot of the pro-posals are ambiguous to saythe least and they will have toprovide more information ifthis is going to be a properc o n s u l t at i o n . ”
The city council has alreadyannounced it will freeze coun-cil tax from April, despite need-ing to make the savings.
Councillor Abi Brown, Con-
servative leader, said: “We cau-tiously welcome the decision tofreeze tax but we will be lookingvery carefully at the budget pro-posals to see if there are otherways we can make savings.”
Yesterday, The Sentinelrevealed leaders at NewcastleBorough Council are planninga third successive council taxfreeze from April.
And Staffordshire CountyCouncil also wants to freeze thebill in the next financial year.
What do you think to theplans? Email us at [email protected]
WHAT WENT IN 2011/12
■ More than 2,000 peoplefailed to stop the closure ofTunstall Pool.The pool closed in March,2011 to save £80,000-a-yearand the building remains emptytoday. Attempts bycampaigners to reopen thepool failed because of a lack ofinterest among residents.■ More than 40 care workerslost their jobs as two carehomes were closed down tosave £1 million.Eardley House, in Bradeley,and Heathside House, inGoldenhill, both closed in2011 after elderly residentswere moved from the homes.■ Much-loved tourist attractionCity Farm opened for the lasttime in March, 2011.The farm – which had beenoperating within Bucknall Parkfor more than 30 years –played a key community role,including offering workplacements to people withlearning disabilities and playinghost to school trips.But the attraction was closedto save £143,000-a-year.City Farm attracted 89,600visitors throughout 2010.■ Shelton Pool has now been
demolished after being closeddown in March, 2011.Campaigners fought to savethe popular pool from the axe.But councillors approved theclosure to save £82,000-a-year.■ Stoke Recreation Centre hasstill not been sold – despitebeing closed down by thecouncil in March, 2011.The Booth Street centre –which attracted around 34,000users-a-year – was closed tosave £39,000.The centre remains on themarket as its long-term futureis being reviewed.■ Failed tourist attractionCeramica was closed downafter the council pulled its£150,000-a-year funding.The Millennium project hadbeen expected to attract100,000 visitors a year toBurslem.But it opened four years latein 2003 and fewer than 8,000people had visited themuseum each year since April2007.■ Libraries at Burslem andFenton were shut to save£191,000-a-year. A mobilelibrary service was also cut.
■ All six of Stoke-on-Trent’smain public libraries – atTunstall, Hanley, Longton,Meir, Stoke and Bentilee –have been closed at the ‘leastbusiest’ times. Plans for a fulllibrary service at Blurton werealso scrapped. The overall plansaved £100,000.■ Campaigners lost their fightto save Barlaston’sWedgwood Memorial Collegefrom closure.The move saved £28,000-a-year and allowed the councilto escape paying an additional£160,000 subsidy needed tokeep operating the college.Campaigners are still drawingup business plans to try toreopen the centre before it issold by the council.■ Pensioners and the disablednow have to pay to travel onStoke-on-Trent’s buses before9.30am. The councilintroduced the charge, despiteOAPs and the disabled inneighbouring Staffordshirereceiving free 24-hour travel.The decision has proved sounpopular that First Bus istrying to win back passengers
with a trial £1 fare before9.30am.■ Efficiency savings weremade in bereavement care,trading standards, registrarsand environmental health.There was also reducedspending on pest control,while teams who respond tolate-night noise complaintsare now only available atweekends during the summer.The whole package saved£160,000.■ Four dedicated town centreregeneration managers –covering Burslem, Stoke andLongton – were lost to save£77,000. Their work wasswallowed up by the council’sregeneration department.■ Organic waste recyclingcollections are nowsuspended between Novemberand March every year withresidents told to home-compost the rubbish or dumpit in with general waste tosave £170,000-a-year.■ Six jobs were lost asspending on public relationsand communications were cutto save £200,000.
Further savings nowbeing considered for2013/14 include:■ Cutting gym staffwith cafe and poolopening hours reducedat Dimensions, left, andcreche opening hoursreduced at FentonManor;■ Shutting morebuildings anddownsizing into ‘hubs’ahead of the council’scity centre relocationwith repairs andalterations bills scaledback to save £610,000;■ Freezing councillors’
allowances in line withthe ongoing pay freezefor staff to save£100,000;■ Back office savingsof up to £734,000through courier serviceand administrationcuts, and reductions in
storage and paper;■ Reviewing PR,communications andmarketing, includingOur City magazine, with£25,000 consultantWestco to recommendcuts of £350,000;■ Withdrawingautomatic grants for‘Live’ concerts, theStoke-on-Trent MusicFestival and MakeSome Noise charity andinviting groups to bidfor cash from acommunity fund;■ Increasing feescharged for venue hire,
exhibition guides andmerchandise at thePotteries andGladstone Potterymuseums, left;■ Reducing openinghours at the city’stourist informationcentre;■ Saving £1.5 millionfrom the way thecouncil pays contractsand buys goods andservices;■ Cutting back on LGVdrivers, assistant parkkeepers and groundsstaff, as well asreviewing payments
made to staff who arekept on standby, tohelp save £2.5 million;■ Relocating theBurslem gymnasticscentre to Dimensions;■ Withholding fundingfor events such as theTour Of Britain, above,
and attempting tocover the shortfall byraising corporatesponsorship;■ Trimming £70,000from the cost of payingfull-time trade unionrepresentativesto reflect plummetingstaff levels;■ Saving £485,000 invulnerable children’sservices by focusingspending on priorityareas;■ Reductions of morethan £700,000 forprojects designed totackle unemployment
and support businessstart-ups in line withnational funding andahead of Government-backed projects;■ Cutting waste sentto landfill, raising morecash from collectingtrade waste andspeeding up bin roundsusing sat-navs andgadgets to save£140,000;■ Redesigning somedepartments, cuttingHR, and completing thechildren and adults’services merger to save£1.8 million.
Headteachers may have to dip into schoolreserves to pay for their crossing patrolsCUTS could see lollipopwardens withdrawn fromschools which have a nearbypedestrian crossing – unlessheadteachers find money fromtheir own budgets to pay forthem.Parents and wardens yesterdayraised concerns about the cost-cutting plans, claimingchildren’s lives will be put atrisk.Janet Williams, a crossingpatrol warden of 20 years, fromWilliams Court, in Pittshill,works at Whitfield ValleyPrimary School in Fegg Hayes.The 59-year-old, who earnsabout £249 for her 10 hours aweek, said: “The pupils at thisschool need me. Some of themare very young and they walkthemselves to school. You seekids as little as eight or ninecrossing the road here.“The cars race along this roadand even though there’s acrossing, sometimes they ignoreit and park across the lines.“They threaten to do this everynow and then but the parentsalways protest. If I lost my jobhere I don’t know what I woulddo.”
Janet’s daughter StephanieWilliams, a mum-of-five, ofChell Heath, added: “My mumworks really hard to look afterthe kids when they cross theroad.“My eldest children walk toschool every day and I wouldnot be happy if we didn’t knowthey were being kept an eye onby the roads.”Lollipop man of 10 years PeterChadwick, pictured left, ofHuron Grove, who helps pupilsfrom Trentham High School,cross the road, said: “The firstthing you think about ischildren’s lives being put atrisk.“It won’t be fair if some parts ofthe city can afford it and otherscan’t.”Abbey Ford, aged 17, of FeggHayes, walks her five-year-oldbrother to school.She added: “He’s only five now.“But eventually he will walkhimself to school.“I can’t understand why anyonewould risk the safety of thekids.“They’re only little and ifsomeone got hit by a car itwould be a tragedy.”
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