by Paul O'Brien
Thursday 25 February 2010
Spoke today at APSE’s packed out Street Cleansing Seminar at Villa Park in Birmingham. The subject of my talk was with budget cuts looming on the horizon, can we really afford to cut streetscene services?
APSE’s view is that whilst local government will require to provide services in an ever more efficient manner due to the state of public finances, this is one area where cuts should be considered carefully. Firstly, the record levels of investment in public services in the decade prior to the recession didn’t always filter down to these particular service areas, secondly these are the very services which the public value the most, thirdly they have the highest local visibility and recognition factor, fourthly they tend to employ high levels of local people whose spend combined with that of local suppliers helps prop up struggling local economies in a time when they desperately need it.
In the evening I catch up with colleagues Jim O’Brien and Muir Wilson at dinner along with members of APSE’s Policy, Performance and Scrutiny Committee.
