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MP condemns £33m county cuts
ASHFIELD MP Geoff Hoon has written to the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council condemning plans to make £33 million in cutbacks to its budget for next year.
Labour MP Mr Hoon, whose constituency includes Jacksdale and Selston, told the leader of the Tory-run council, Cllr Kay Cutts, the cuts would lead to hundreds of redundancies across the county, which would far out-weigh the authority's plans to freeze council tax for the next three years.
Services which would be hit by the cuts include the elderly's community transport and Dial a Ride service, increases to the cost of Meals on Wheels, closing three of the county's recycling centres and cutting hundreds of council jobs.
Mr Hoon wrote in his letter: "I am deeply concerned that those who need support the most, the elderly and the infirm, will be hardest hit and I cannot see who will be the beneficiaries of these damaging cuts.
"The extra costs that the people in Ashfield will now face due to these cuts will far outweigh the cost of the council tax increase you have decided against, highlighting the sheer folly of such a move."
The council says 31 million of the 33 million would be reinvested in other services run by the authority, leaving a 2 million deficit. Under the changes more money would be ploughed in to looking after vulnerable children and coping with an ageing population.
Former Labour leader of the council David Kirkham said: "When I left, the council was in excellent financial shape, with one of the lowest council taxes in the country. What we see here is cuts for the sake of cuts, not because they are needed.
"Raising the costs of elderly services at a time when every penny counts is a shocking and appalling move."
Plans are now out to public consultation until January next year and the final decisions will be made in the budget meeting in February.
The county council says it is being forced to may cuts because the Government is set to slash the amount it gives it to run its services and this trend looked set to continue.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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