This site gives people inside and outside the party a place to express their views. And what bigger subject than the cuts to be announced in this autumn’s spending review?
The coalition government have said that there will be consultation on the spending review, but many of us may want to test our thinking on a forum before writing to the government. This post is a place for us to get feedback on our ideas, and to think through the options the government faces.
It might be helpful to say some of the following:
– why your idea would save money
– what other advantages it has
– what possible drawbacks it has
– and how realistic it is, from a political point of view
If you have a tentative suggestion, make it anyway. Even if a proposal is unworkable, it may lead us to think of other ideas.
And when it comes to feedback, as always, please try to be friendly.
16 Comments
Cut out extravagant “gesture politics”.
Cut the Olympic Games and the World Cup. This will save money because the principle beneficiaries of them are their own governing bodies. They could be scrapped all together or, if the contracts cannot be rescinded, at least cut out their expensive opening ceremonies and razzmatazz. People who are interested in these contests will still be interested. People who are not interested in the sporting contests will not be persuaded to like them by showy extravaganzas. Do not allow their governing bodies to dictate who gets contracts for producing related goods. In my opinion all contracts must go to companies within the host country.
Cut a percentage of subscriptions to the BBC (perhaps 20%) to cut the outrageous salaries to a few so-called celebrities, who appeal to only a small percentage of the population. Take away from the BBC money spent on the silly European Song Contest. Either redistribute the saved money to better quality programmes or to libraries – or reduce the licence fee. Nearly everyone is compelled to pay the licence fee; I know of two people who did not have TVs who had difficulty avoiding paying the fee. (It is not supposed to be paid for a radio where there is no TV in the house.)
Stop knocking down serviceable buildings. Cut out unnecessary public building projects. Repair buildings, increase their insulation, install ways of producing power without using as much electricity. Maybe hot air could be put to good use in the Houses of Parliament!
Use more land in public parks as allottments so that people can grow their own vegetables.
This suggestion isn’t to save money, but to reduce the pain caused by the cuts.
Use NHS funding to pay for health spending in other departments.
Lib Dems didn’t want to ring-fence the NHS budget. We thought it absurd that health spending, say, in social services, might have to be savaged, while lower priority health care in the NHS is spared. I fear we’re stuck with the Conservative election promise to ring-fence the NHS budget, but there might be ways to use the NHS budget to reduce the pressure on non-NHS health spending.
In the 1990’s, some health responsibilities were transferred to social services, there was a lot of complaint at the time that insufficient funds went with the new responsibilities. Civil servants should find mechanisms to correct this now.
Other advantages: Ring-fencing the NHS will cause tensions between departments. Getting the NHS to share some of the pain will improve morale in other departments undergoing severe cuts.
Possible drawbacks: New and expensive treatments are always putting the NHS under ever-increasing demand.
How realistic?
Politically, this is a lot more realistic than getting the Conservative party to break its pledge. They’d still get some flak for it, but there is a growing tide of opinion in the Conservative party to relax this pledge.
See http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2010/07/ideas-please-for-breaking-the-nhs-and-aid-ringfences.html
Simple. Don’t do it. There is no need to attempt to eliminate the budget deficit in four years
When deciding on who gets what benefits – Trust the professionals
If someone has been awarded a benefit because they have no arms or legs why put them through the stress of constantly having to justify why they still need the benefit.
If someone has an autistic spectrum disorder they are not going to become normally functioning members of society.
The money that could be saved just be doing away with the red tape associated with getting the benefits that people are genuinely entitled to is enormous.
When will governments start to target tax evasion with the same level of vindictiveness that is being applied to the most vulnerable members of our society. As liberal democrats we should be lifting the individual up and valueing them for who they are not creating a climate of fear and dread where people with multiple sclerosis are terrified of what is going to happen next, where parents of children with autism fear that they wont get the help and support needed to help their child thrive.
scrap trident replacment could save a billion or two, oh nope the agrement will not let you
@Judith brooksbank
How much the 2012 Olympics will cost the UK government is the source of a lot of debate. I agree there’s an argument for saying we shouldn’t have bid, and that, in particular, building huge stadiums which will not be properly utilised after the games, is a terrible waste.
But, for better of worse, now it’s happening, we’ve got to get on with it.
I agree that the enormous extragavence of the Beijing opening ceremony should not be something to praise, but shake our heads at. I’m pleased that we’re not planning anything like the same kind of thing. Danny Boyle was specifically chosen because he has made hugely successful films on very tight budgets. I hope he can pull it off.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10338048.stm
You could argue that we shouldn’t even have a cheaper opening ceremony, but I think that would be a false economy. The opening ceremony is a marketing opportunity for UK plc. If we can use it to showcase British creativity for a small fraction of the cost of the Beijing Olympics, that’ll in itself be a useful statement. If the current austerity led us to produce an opening ceremony that was widely ridiculed, that’d do our image harm, and may undermine our exports.
“cut the outrageous salaries to a few so-called celebrities”
Agreed. I think it is happening and I welcome it. When expensive old talent leaves, the BBC is extraordinarily good at producing new talent.
As for the licence fee, I’m torn. I love the BBC, but it is a regressive tax. I’m afraid cutting the top earners isn’t going to save 20%. 20% will lead to significant cuts in programmes.
“Stop knocking down serviceable buildings. Cut out unnecessary public building projects. Repair buildings, increase their insulation”
I agree. Interestingly, this is exactly what is behind Gove’s recent announcements. A real pity about the terrible mess-up. It’s distracted attention away from the real issue – can we afford this programme at the present time. That said, sometimes old buildings are so badly designed, and so expensive to heat and maintain, rebuild is the cheapest option. I’d be inclined for devolved budgets, with a devolved capital fund.
@john martin
“Simple. Don’t do it. There is no need to attempt to eliminate the budget deficit in four years”
Totally disagree with the first. We’ll go down the pan if we don’t sort out such a massive deficit. But I think I agree with the second. I’m inclined to suggest we go for six years, not four. But just because I’m suggesting a slow down in the deficit reduction, that doesn’t absolve me from the responsibility to make constructive suggestions for how do make savings.
@Ian James
I am pretty worried about the rhetoric coming from Osborne. But I’m old enough to remember something scandalous that the Conservatives did in the 1980’s. In order to reduce the headline figure of unemployment, they had a deliberate policy of reclassifying the unemployed as disabled. This has since been widely criticised, including from within the Conservative party. The criticism is that this helped created a culture that wrote off the employment prospects of the partially disabled.
Unemployment is a psychological trap, sometimes closely linked with depression, which I think Ian Duncan-Smith understands, but Osborne does not. I understand the way to address this is hugely complex and difficult. I think I’ll wait to see how the proposed reforms actually work out, rather than the fear of how they might work out.
But, I do have deep misgivings. All the advice I’ve read is that getting the unemployed back to work (and I presume this also applied to those disabled who can work), is, in the short-term, more expensive than just leaving them on benefits. But I’m certain Osborne isn’t going to allow that short-term increase in funding.
@tony
As always, I think you’ve already answered your own question. 😉 Of course, the same would have applied with a Lib/Lab coalition.
I am more concerned with the proposed reassessment of DLA as from what I understand it will be carried out by private contractors that are paid a bonus for those that they remove from the list.
I am already aware of a woman on chemotherapy who was told – there is nothing wrong with you its only headaches (she has a brain tumour) so if this is how such a review is to be implemented then the government is saying that it does not trust its own doctors and health proffessionals to make a correct diagnosis – bear in mind also that many claimants on DLA have conditions that are very unlikely to improve unlike invalidity benefit where as you say a large number of people were sent to massage the unemployment statistics.
@ George Kendall
given that a hung parliment was allways the best the LD could hope for
why was it there?
not to disapoint I will answer
window dressing coz it appealed to some people who the LD party wanted to vote for them.
Now here is one I won’t answer, but …..
what was in the LD manifesto that was not window dressing??????
@Ian James
“I am already aware of a woman on chemotherapy who was told – there is nothing wrong with you its only headaches (she has a brain tumour)”
Because I have a little knowledge of this area (but nothing like as much as you), I believe you. Depressingly, I think most of the public, who don’t have that knowledge, won’t. I’m afraid that, even if the ministers want to be reasonable, in a big bureaucracy, very bad mistakes end up being made. And worse, over the last ten years, policy in welfare has been overly influenced by the Daily Mail, and being reasonable hasn’t always been the highest priority of ministers. 🙁
I do, however, take some comfort that Steve Webb is a junior minister in the department. He is an expert in this area, with a strong commitment to social justice. But the department has Osborne’s desire for massive cuts hanging over it. It’s going to be very tough.
Out of interest, when did the example you gave happen?
By the way, I read somewhere that Osborne was pressing hard for much bigger cuts to benefits, and Ian Duncan-Smith was able to resist it. We shouldn’t assume that all Tories are the same. Behind closed doors, there will be huge battles going on in the cabinet.
This is from a thread regarding DLA on the Democracy UK page on Facebook
Lesley Roberts I believe that the only way forward is for every disabled and sick person to demand these medicals and then insist upon appeals if they are told they are fit for work when they are obviously not – the costs of this would surely outweigh the reasoning put forward to give them in the first place! I had one with ATOS three days after having a full body MRI scan order by my Consultant Neuro Surgeon. makes the cost of my having the second medical loving paid for by the DWP very questionable doesn’t it?
I was told by a person in DWP “that even a person with a sprained wrist can do some kind of work” – I had just been told that after treatment for one brain tumour – I have two by the way its very rare – that I now have a further adnormaility mid brain some sprained wrist dont you think?
Sorry if I mislead you into thinking I was better acquainted with the case than I really am.
I will however admit to having concerns regarding the governments approach to DLA as I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (an autistic spectrum disorder) when I was 36. After a failed suicide attempt and with the help and support of the community mental health team I was awarded DLA.
Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders are currently treated as learning disabilities when they are in fact Social and Communication Disorders. This means that if a person with Asperger Syndrome is looked at they appear normal and no account is taken of the psychological and communication problems that the condition causes.
As I presently have the support I need social services dont even want to record me on their books which means that when my parents die it is entirely possible a crisis situation could arise. As I was diagnosed in adulthood I have not hadf the benefit of any training etc in how to manage independantly in life and have been the victim of fraudsters that managed to obtain £20,000 pounds from me.
This disability is invisible yet permanently divides the person from being able to live a normal life.
Sorry to involve you in all of this
Ian
@Ian James
Thanks for the quote. It’s interesting, very distressing for the person involved. Though obviously, there’s no way to know how typical it is.
“have been the victim of fraudsters that managed to obtain £20,000 pounds”
I’m really sorry that happened to you.
And don’t apologise for sharing your personal experience. I think it’s helpful to the site to have a few share little from their own lives, without a political agenda. Just from the heart, as you have. 🙂
Currently all children living over a certain distance from their school (currently 2 or 3 miles depending on age) are given free transport to school. The distance that a child can reasonably be expected to walk to school was set many years ago when the level of car ownership was much lower than currently. In rural communities it is not safe for children to walk to school because of narrow roads with no footpaths and traffic speeds and volumes.
My proposal is to retain the school bus network where it exists but make it a chargeable service to all but low income families. My children, who live 2.9 miles from their school, have been able to use the school bus service for about £50 per term each. I can’t see why all children currently getting free school transport shouldn’t pay a flat fee , irrespective of distance for this benefit.
Being a tax payer Iam surprised that Local Authorities North of the border of which there are (32) have a policy of redundancy payments that are in my opinion quite ridiculous, ie if a member of local government is made redundant the package includes in addition to their pension up to 104 weeks pay? surely this cannot be the norm , while being made redundant is difficult this additional bounty (104 weeks) is not justified and cannot be sustained.
the removal of these costs would have a substantial impact on spend.
being a tax payer can I suggest we expect the custodians of the public purse to use our money towards more legitimate causes.
Where can I find out what the financial implications of this current policy are.
At last someone does something about this insane benefit culture. Yes there are a lot of urban myths about benefits but as someone who experiences the reality of such a culture in my job i have a suggestion.
Please please please get rid of DLA. Its supposed to be Disability Living Allowance but i call it detroying your liver allowance. I can only think of one instance in 10 years that i have known it be spent on care. Its always spent on beer and drugs because no one ever checks up on what its spent on. Please take the money away from people and use it to pay for a persons care package. Money saved, care delivered to those who need it and taken away from the vast majority who dont use it for what its intended.
Please reduce the costly and ineffective LEA ‘control rooms’ – policies, manifestos and pledges adorn schools and public buildings throughout the land serviced by well paid council officers that do nothing to improve overall standards for young people. Good quality teaching with real care and enthusiasm to support children reach their potential works far better than instructions to deliver ‘learning outside of the classroom’ programmes. Its called sports, arts and play. Schools have delivered this for generations without the costs involved in the great re branding exercise now seemingly required. Wastes millions that could be ring fenced for schools to purchase resources to deliver activities not read about what they wish could be delivered.
The EHRC really must not be allowed to slip through the quango axe net. All it has done, at great cost, is reduce the equality and human rights of indigenous British people – we are paying a body to hack away at our culture, history and heritage – and it is evident that none of our politicians have the courage to stand up for us, in the face of laws which permit anything to be done to us but we must not defend our culture. An homogenous Britain is not what we fought for, and we are still fighting but, apparently, not to protect our way of life but that of others. We seem committed to defending Afghanis, et al, whilst allowing our own people to be sterilised in their own land. I would put money on Condem shirking their responsibility and shying away from closing down the EHRC – that is how little faith is left in our society. Even Church of England ministers are turning to Rome in desparation at our home-brewed religion’s unwillingness to defend the faith and uphold our values – and there are so many other examples of discrimination against us, in our own land, that I fear we really are doomed or, certainly, damned