People across the North West will call for Fair Funding for Public Services at a march and rally in Liverpool tomorrow.
Local authorities in the North West have been hit by funding cuts greater than the national average and those in more deprived areas have been particularly hard-hit.
For instance, Liverpool City Council is suffering cuts of 27.1%, while the least deprived area in the country, Hart District Council in Hampshire, is facing cuts of 1.5%.
Funding cuts have already seen services across the region hit, from libraries to Sure Start centres, support for the elderly to school crossing patrols, with more than 80,000 public sector jobs lost in the region.
Some of the funding cuts already announced have yet to be translated into service and job cuts, but central government plans to increase the pace of cuts.
UNISON regional secretary Kevan Nelson said: “For nearly four years we have seen a concerted attack by central government on the people who work in and use public services.
“Our services are creaking under the strain, yet government wants to make austerity permanent. We are now clearly witnessing an attack on what is best about our society – what previous generations have built up is under threat.”
And he added: “Austerity is an attack on what makes our society humane and cohesive, and we cannot let this go on. We urgently need fair funding for public services.”
Workers from Sefton council will be just some of the UNISON members taking part: Sefton has already cut nearly 1500 jobs from its workforce..
UNISON member Holly, who is part of Sefton’s benefits and housing team, said that she would be marching because ”people need to know that the government wants to increase the speed of spending cuts in coming years.
“This will have a terrible impact on our communities. We don’t want more and more cuts year after year. We need fair funding for public services.”
Fair Funding for Public Services – event details
