8/7/2019 Whickham Tabloid Autumn 10 p1

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Whickham, Sunniside, Swalwell, Dunston, Lobley Hill

Council cashsqueeze

Focus Autumn 2010

severity of the cash crisisby the Government has now

brought home to Gateshead

cil.

May, the Coalition inherited af 157 billion between whatters spend and what is raised in. It has left Britain with ave debt hangover that everyones has to be tackled.

uncils have now been told howre to share in the burden of cuts.

e Government currentlydes three-quarters of the moneyby councils. Over the coming

years, Government money toils will be cut by a quarter.

uncils will have the option ofng council tax and charges ton the impact of the cuts.

e Government however willxtra support to councils wantingze council tax in April next year,h this is only a one-off.

e most immediate concern forhead Council is the need to saveillion on next years budget.

re details about the money fromal Government to Gateshead willnounced in December.

ickham Lib Dem Councillor

than Wallace said, I wish Isay that everything is fine andy is no problem. However, weinherited the worst financialin living memory.

owever, regardless of whod the mess in the first place, itbe cleared up.

efore the general election, evenen Chancellor, Alisdair Darling,tted that their spend, spend,approach had to end. The resultabour Government made cutsmillion to Council services in

head.

ow Labour claim we can just

on spending as if nothing hadened. They have lost all grip on

cial reality.

e Council will now start

LOCAL Lib Dem

Councillors have joined with

the Friends of Chase Park

group on a proposal to put a

skate park into Chase Park

And they have pledged significant portion of a communit

fund for the project.

Each ward has a small pot o

money which can be invested in

local projects that benefit the whol

community.

Councillors from each of th

three Whickham wards hav

collectively agreed to allocate som

of this money to the skate par

project.

The idea is to provide childre

with a safe area they can use fo

skateboarding, BMX biking an

meeting friends.

There are precious few

facilities for kids in the area an

many gather on street corners o

use inappropriate locations to g

skateboarding or cycling, such a

St Marys Green or the Co-op ca

park, said Cllr Peter Craig.

They want somewhere to go tha

is safe and gets them off the streets

A skate park in Chase Park woul

be ideal for many youngsters.

Councillors are still in discussio

with officers about setting up th

skate park and are also looking fo

additional sources of funding.

Wheels turn

for skate

park planCulture of Spend, Spend,Spend ends as even Labour

admits cuts are needed

Schools and NHS saved from cutsSPENDING on schools and the NHS

is being protected by the Coalition

government despite big cuts being

made elsewhere to balance the

budget.

And contrary to Labour claims in theGeneral Election, we are keeping Sure Startand pensioners free bus passes, winter fuelallowance and free tv licenses.

In addition, we are reforming the tax andbenefit system, ensuring that people arebetter off in work and that a life on benefits

is no longer a lifestyle choice.From April 2011 we will raise the personal

tax allowance by 1000, taking us a big steptowards our goal of making the first 10,000

of a persons annual income free of tax.

Local Lib Dem campaigner SonyHawkins said, Despite the economiwreckage left by Labour, Liberal Democratin Government are determined to ensure alchildren have a fair start in life.

Ministers have therefore made ouchildrens education one of the Coalitiontop priorities.

Cllr Chris Ord said, Raising the tathreshold next year will allow local residentto keep more of the money they earn.

800,000 people on low income will b

taken out of tax altogether.The benefits system often traps peopl

into poverty, leaving them better off out owork. This needs to end.

consulting residents on where savings

should be made and which services

should be cut.

Tell us your viewsYour local Lib Dem Councillorswant to hear from you about howyou think savings should be made.

If you have examples of waste, tellus about them.

With thisFocus is a survey form.We want to feed your views into theCouncil on services and spending.

Please fill in the form and return itto the address shown.

Replies will be treated inconfidence but the overall views willbe fed into the Councils budget-

making process.

ur views sought on how Gateshead should spend and save

Lib Dem campaigners Sonya Hawkins and Cllr Chris

Ord outside Whickham School - Labour Councillors

have been told by the Coalition that they can no longer

make cuts to local school budgets. Inset - Cllr Jonathan

Wallace: Spend, spend, spend culture is ending but

residents views sought on what should be cut.