Wednesday 21 July 2010

TOMORROW! Protest against local cuts and job losses!

Meet 3.30pm Hove Town Hall, July 22

Details have been announced about cuts to local services in Brighton and Hove. See below for more information. These cuts will be agreed by the Tory Cabinet at their meeting on Thursday July 22 at 4pm, Hove Town Hall.

There will be a protest outside from 3.30pm against these cuts and job losses. Deputations of residents and youth organisations are coming to speak at the meeting. Please do come if you can to add your voice in opposition.

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We now have details of the £3.6m in-year cuts to sevices in Brighton and Hove. These are a mixture of the ConDem Communities Secretary Eric Pickles' cuts and some announced recently by ConDem Education Secretary Michael Gove. These cuts are being made by the local Tory minority-led council who have the final responsibility as to where the axe will fall.


- £700,000 to be cut from the Connexions service that helps young people into jobs and training.

- £435,000 cut from the Schools Improvement budget that pays advisers to work with schools to raise educational standards.

- £48,000 from the extended schools budget. This budget enabled schools to develop specialities and services outside of the core curriculum with community involvement.

- £193,000 from the Road Safety budget and £1.24m from transport capital projects. The Queen's Park safer Routes to School programme funding is cut by 50 per cent.

- Free swimming gets a reprive until April 2011 thanks to the local PCT putting in some funding (before it gets abolished) as part of its reducing obesity plan.

- Youth Capital Fund, £61,000 cut.

- Schools capital funding, losing £660,000.

- Surestart funding will be "managed down". So far £300,000 capital funding is being cut in addition to the £300,000 revenue cut by the local Tories.

- £120,000 Housing Delivery Grant — a 100 per cut. This used to provide staff who work to increase the supply of homes coming forward in both the private and public sector.

- £590,000 Playbuilder programme for year two providing refurbished or new children's playgrounds.

- 41 jobs to go as a result of these cuts alone.