Manchester braced for worst cuts in over 50 years - Mirror.co.uk

THE true horror of brutal cuts facing millions of families was laid bare yesterday as Manchester became the first city to wield the axe.

Council bosses are already slashing 2,000 jobs as part of the budget squeeze.

But now many youth centres, leisure centres, nurseries, libraries and swimming pools will close in what has been described as the worst cuts since the war.

The madness will axe all but one public toilet – and users will be charged for that.

The alarming plans for Manchester are a gloomy blueprint for the future of Britain under the Tory-led Government.

There are now real fears for the rest of the UK as other councils follow the city's lead in a bid to balance the books under the strain of the Coalition's ruthless cutbacks.

Hardly any corner of Manchester will be untouched – as Tory politicians try to blame the Labour council for not being prepared.

But that is no comfort for the 400,000 people living in the UK's third largest city who must watch their authority save nearly £110million in the next financial year.

GRIM

Council leader Sir Richard Leese said putting the budget of cuts together – £60million more than anticipated – had been a "most unpalatable process". He added: "These are the worst cuts for over 50 years. I cannnot pretend the financial position in which we have been placed is anything other than bad news.

"We are doing everything we can to protect and maintain the services which people need and make sure funding is targeted where it will make the most difference."

Yesterday Manchester staff – already reeling from the widescale redundancies – were told of the scale of the historic cuts that will see virtually every area of council spending dramatically hacked back.

Libraries, swimming pools and leisure centres will bear the brunt of the misery.

The council is also saving £5million by merging town hall teams that look after street management, highways and repairs. More than £45million will be stripped from the children's services budget – a quarter of its total spending.

And more than a third of the council's core services, such as finance and personnel departments, will be cut.

The amount of grant funding to voluntary sector organisations will fall by 22%.

The annual Lord Mayor's reception will be cancelled and less will be spent on events in the city.

More than 300 homes for the most needy will be scrapped in the next three years.

The council has been hit by a £12.6million reduction in a Government grant that paid for housing vulnerable people. Some 340 supported housing units across the city will be closed as a result.

Manchester, which faces increasing demand from an ageing population, will try to limit the damage by diverting £4million to pay for social care.

But overall it will lose one fifth of its budget for adult care – just under £40million. Grants to services like luncheon clubs will end.

Staff in communications management, administration, accounts handling and press office roles could be axed.

Sir Richard added: "The cuts will have a significant impact on the services Manchester people have come to expect, but they are necessary in order to concentrate our efforts on what is most important – that is helping the most vulnerable and nurturing the conditions to help Manchester grow."

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Bernard Priest, the council's executive member for finance, dismissed rumours the city had big cash reserves. He said: "Reserves can be used once, then they are gone, which is why we're using them for the voluntary severance schemes."

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps accused the Labour council of playing politics with people's lives. He hit out: "It's Labour politicians that are in denial about the financial mess left by the last Labour government, and they have clearly failed to prepare for the inevitable reductions in public spending as a result of Labour's budget deficit."

Government sources compared the salaries of Prime Minister David Cameron and council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein and suggested the latter should consider taking a pay cut as part of the belt-tightening.

Sir Howard earns around £200,000, which rises to £230,000 with allowances.

But council leader Sir Richard said making a comparison with the PM was misleading. On his blog, he wrote: "The Prime Minister's basic salary is £142,000 which is indeed less than our chief executive's total remuneration package.

"But our chief doesn't have a home in the centre of London or a country home paid for by the taxpayer, as the Prime Minister does, he doesn't have a driver on call 24 hours a day, as the PM also has.

"In fact, the Prime Minister's package is estimated to be more than £600k."

Manchester Central Labour MP Tony Lloyd said he was appalled by what is happening to his city. He blasted: "Manchester is the fourth most deprived area in the country and the Government is saying it is all our fault.

"My message is don't be poor, don't be vulnerable, don't be elderly and live in Manchester under this Conservative and Lib Dem Government. They are out to get you.

"And we know many other local authorities are facing the same cuts."

Languages teacher Helen Mozley warned shutting libraries will rip the heart out of some communities.

Helen, who teaches foreigners at Hulme library which is set to close, said: "We help people from some of the most deprived areas to integrate into the ­community and help them find work.

"These are community facilities and without them people who come to my classes will become more isolated and unable to access the help they need."

It is a fear that exists not just in libraries but in youth clubs and Sure Start centres up for the axe.

Users stress they are not just facilities but social hubs that bring people together. Mum-of-three Kerry Kinnear, 28, who relies on Clayton Sure Start centre which could close, said: "I think it would be a real shame if it shut down. I know it would leave a lot of people in the lurch."

The cuts were announced as Mr Cameron's vision for a Big Society received a big blow in a poll which found two thirds of people don't feel part of their community.

FARCE

The PM's grand idea is one where community groups would be able to run post offices, libraries, transport services, shape housing projects and have more control over their futures.

But six months on, the much-ridiculed vision is crumbling around him.

A ComRes poll of 2,000 people across the UK found 68% don't feel that they are involved in their local community at all.

Meanwhile, unions and voluntary groups have joined forces to campaign against the spending cuts, arguing that they make a mockery of the Big Society vision.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said yesterday: "This unnecessary and economically damaging austerity will make Britain a meaner, nastier, more unequal place to live."

Voice of the Mirror: Page 8