Unison workers protest Staffordshire County Council cuts

A dozen Unison worker held placards reading ‘stop danger council cuts’ and ‘save our crossing patrols’ outside Staffordshire County Council's headquarters during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

However, despite the protest, Conservative councillors agreed at the meeting to press ahead with its action plan to bridge a £35 million shortfall in its budget for next year.

Under the plans the council will stop paying for the 248 patrols and will instead urge businesses and communities to pick up the task under its proposals for 2019/2020.

School crossing patrols cost between £3,000 and £4,000 a year to fund.

By not providing the service, the authority would save £290,00 in 2019 and £250,000 the following year, the council says.

Other proposals include increasing council tax by 2.95 per cent, reducing the frequency of grass cutting, making back-office redundancies and making libraries community-run.

But regional organiser at Unison, Tony Jones, said the plans are a disgrace.

He added: “It is a moral and health disgrace that they are even considering cutting school crossing patrols and putting our children at risk when they are coming in and out of school.

"The decision to remove them is scandalous and we came here to lobby cabinet today to rethink their decision and to review cuts they are making.

"We have also had in other authorities strong campaigns to keep the libraries under the ownership of their own authority because again it is an essential service for people who are unemployed who do not have access to laptops and IT or social media and rely on library service not only for books but also for IT support.

“We are happy to meet with the authority at any time to discuss the best way forward for the mutual benefit of service users.”

Leader of the council, Philip Atkins said: “Staffordshire is a well-run council which has helped deliver a strong economy, low unemployment, improving schools, a good children’s service and better jobs and training opportunities, all with one of the lowest county council taxes in the country.

“In the last decade we have seen the funding needed to look after children in our care and provide adult social care increase by £100m.

"The national funding needed to do this has simply not kept pace, leading to councils like ours facing some extremely difficult decisions on balancing the books.

“Our proposals mean we will still do more to support Staffordshire people than we are legally obliged to, but we are being honest with people about what these proposals will mean if they are implemented.”

The council’s 2018/19 budget will be agreed next February.