Approximately 100 people braved the cold on Saturday 4th December to attend the first public meeting of the Northampton Against the Cuts and Privatisation campaign. A cross section of people who live and work in Northampton came along to discuss their opposition to the cuts and how to campaign against them.
Emily Dean, president of the Students Union at the University of Northampton, spoke out against the planned changes to higher education, with the increase in tuition fees a major concern.
Sally Ruane, deputy director of the health research unit at De Montford University, spoke very eloquently as she attacked the government's arguments for the cuts. She argued that by collecting the tax which is owed, the deficit could be eliminated with destroying jobs and services. She went on to put the deficit into historical context and to point out that the the UK had a far larger deficit after World War II, but was still able to build the Welfare State.
I've been doing a little more looking at the County Council budget. Hidden in a £4 million pound cut is a the £100k or so that goes on advice work. This is generally welfare rights and citizens advice work. The County Council is cutting all of it having identified earlier in the year that they predicted a increase in the need for debt advice.
ReplyDeleteThis really attacks the most vulnerable in our communities, the increasing number of unemployed, people with disabilities, people on low incomes.
The detailed proposals that aren't so detailed
http://youchoosencc.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/appendix-f-detailed-proposals-with-eqias3.pdf
Also the equality impact assessment that identifies that there will be an adverse impact but doesn't think that anything significant needs to be done about it
http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/Community/equalities/Documents/PDF%20Documents/Budget%20EQIAs%202011-12/SC016%20Changes%20to%20Debt%20and%20Financial%20Advice%20Budget.pdf
attacking the vulnerable and the needy.