Firefighter July 2010 - Fbu.me.uk

CUTSWORKERSAND THEVULNERABLEEXPECTEDTO PAYGovernment launches the most viciousattack on public services in living memoryThe first big lie of the new coalition government isthat its savage cuts programme will be “fair”. It haseven given it a name: “progressive cuts”. Last monthchancellor George Osborne announced that welfarebenefits, tax credits and public sector pensions weretop of his hit-list – part of £40bn in additional cuts in the nextfive years. This is in addition to £73bn of cuts already planned– the biggest slash and burn of public services in recent history.We do not yet know the full impact of cuts on the fire andrescue service. But we do know that cuts already announcedand others in the pipeline will have a horrific impact on theliving standards of firefighters and their families.A two-year pay freeze (really a pay cut when inflation istaken into account), a commission to attack public sectorpensions, together with higher taxes and fewer services wereall announced in the budget. The government says we are allin it together. But workers are expected to pay – while theThe government says we areall in it together. But workersare expected to pay while fatcats still live a life of luxury.government’s fat-cat friends still live a life of luxury. TheInstitute of Fiscal Studies estimates that the cuts will costthe average family £1,000 a year. Public sector workersare expected to bear the brunt of cuts, while the rich, whohardly use public services, are barely affected.As the new fire minister Bob Neill put it when heslipped up in the House of Commons on 10 June: “Thosein greatest need ultimately bear the burden of paying offthe debt which this country has been left.”Attacks on children’s servicesThe government says the budget deficit has to be reduced ifwe are not to leave our children with a huge legacy of debt.But children and other vulnerable people are among thefirst to be hit by the cuts.The TUC’s Cuts Watch shows that, despite governmentpromises about frontline services and fairness, the cuts arealready hitting those with the greatest need.For example, the coalition has decided to axe plans toprovide children from low-paid families with free schoolmeals. This measure would have extended the entitlementto about half a million working families from September thisyear, making a real difference to their children’s wellbeing.The Child Poverty Action Group’s Imran Hussain estimatesthat suspending this provision is equivalent to taking away £600a year from a family with two children – or at least a 1% incometaxincrease for the families it was meant to help. Other projects10 FireFighter July 2010