Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday announced the biggest UK spending cuts in decades, in a series of complex reforms to make extra savings.
The effects of the cuts will be widespread, affecting most public bodies, from local councils, to police forces, universities, and even the NHS.
Lincoln and Lincolnshire will of course be affected by the government’s measures, and many people will feel the pinch one way or another.
Spending review at a glance
■ 490,000 public sector jobs the be cut
■ Police funding cut by 4% a year for four years
■ Retirement age to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020
■ Regulated rail fares to rise 3% above inflation
■ 7.1% cut in annual council budgets (for four years)
■ Benefits cap and welfare measures to save £7billion per year
■ Child Benefit will be removed from families with a higher-rate taxpayer
■ 4.3% real annual rise in NHS budget
■ Free TV licences for over 75s
Painful public sector jobs losses
Almost half a million public sector jobs will be lost across the country, and Lincoln will be hit as well.
According to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS), 33% of the employed people in Lincoln are public sector workers (17,900).
Local councils are facing cuts of around 7% for four years in their budgets, which means they will have to scale down on services, and lay people off.
“We already know for sure that there must be further cuts to services and, unfortunately, job losses,” said Martin Hill, Leader of the County Council.
“These will include compulsory redundancies across the board, as we quickly restructure our operations,” Hill added.
Council services face the axe
“The unavoidable question for us is not whether to cut services, but which to cut and by how much,” said County Council’s Chief Exec Tony McArdle.
It is likely to be the middle of November before each local authority can identify exactly how much money will need to be saved over the next four years.
“In a few weeks, the government will give individual councils an indication of what they can expect to get next year in government grants.
“Only at that point can our 2011/12 budgets for each service area begin to be set in detail,” McArdle explained.
“Like businesses and households across the country, local authorities will need to change to live within our reduced means.”
“There’s no denying the reality that things are going to get much tougher; we can’t do anything and everything any more,” Hill concluded.
Council tax though will not rise, as the treasury set aside £650m to help councils meet the coalition pledge to freeze council tax bills from next year.
“We are currently undergoing a series of reviews of our systems that we are confident will increase efficiency and make savings in some services,” said Andrew Taylor, Chief Exec at the City Council.
“In other areas we will look at our day-to-day business to see if we can make sensible savings.
“However, to meet these very challenging targets we will have to explore how we deliver services across the whole organisation,” Taylor explained.
“We will take sensible steps that will ensure the savings have as little impact on the public as possible,” explained City Council Leader Darren Grice.
‘No surprise’
The leaders of the city and county council said they were not surprised about the cuts Chancellor George Osborne announced in Parliament.
“Today’s announcements are no surprise, but it will take some time for us to digest all of the information and the real detail won’t be available to us yet,” said Grice.
“Today’s initial announcements are not a surprise and we are in the best possible position to deal with them, having been actively preparing for this situation for 18 months,” Hill echoed.
NHS is safe
NHS national spending will increase by 0.4% annually over the next for years, but service will have to make cuts as well.
“Funding for the NHS is protected but there is still a need for us to reduce expenditure,” said a Emily Firminger from United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust.
“As a Trust, we are expected to achieve 15-20% in efficiency savings over the next four years, which will be about £60 to £70 million.”
‘Tough, fair, and necessary’
Conservative Lincoln MP Karl McCartney believes the spending review announced by the Chancellor “is tough, fair, and necessary.”
“Tough, because of the quite considerable cuts to some government departments; fair, because state support will still be focused on those who need it most; necessary, because of the disastrous economic legacy left by the last Labour Government.
“This Spending Review is about building a stronger economy, with more jobs, investment and growth.
“It is about building a fairer and more responsible society, with more opportunity for people to lift themselves out of poverty, and with state support focused on those who need it most.”
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It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.
There have been 285 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and eight COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 7% drop in cases and one less death from the previous week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 32 new cases in Lincolnshire, eight in North Lincolnshire and three in North East Lincolnshire.
On April 16, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported two hospitals this week so far, compared to none this time last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 2,596 to 4,383,732, while deaths rose by 34 to 127,225.
In local news, Lincolnshire health bosses expect COVID-19 cases to rise in our region as lockdown is eased, but are optimistic that if numbers are kept low enough, then people will be free to enjoy the summer.
Andy Fox, Deputy Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council, said the lifting of coronavirus restrictions this week had not caused any specific concerns yet.
Since Wednesday, Greater Lincolnshire has again seen a decrease in its infection rates overall, against an increase nationally.
All districts have seen a fall in their rates, except small increases in North Lincolnshire and South Holland. Lincoln has stayed the same and has the lowest rate in the region.
Boston has the highest infection rate of COVID-19 in Greater Lincolnshire and is ranked 9th in the UK.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 16:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 9 to Apr 16. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
England’s R number has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and 1 according to the latest data this week. This means for every 10 people infected with COVID-19, they will pass it on to between seven and 10 others.
The new Indian variant of the COVID virus that’s been detected in the UK has all the hallmarks of a very dangerous virus.
It has two new significant mutations in the spike protein that help it infect cells and evade the immune system.
People are “likely” to need a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine within 12 months of getting the first two, Pfizer’s chief executive has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said a booster jab could be necessary “somewhere between six and 12 months” after the second one – and every year thereafter.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 16
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,919 cases (up 43)
41,028 in Lincolnshire (up 32)
9,275 in North Lincolnshire (up eight)
8,616 in North East Lincolnshire (up three)
2,185 deaths (up three)
1,613 from Lincolnshire (up three)
304 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (no change)
810 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,383,732 UK cases, 127,225 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Plans to demolish part of a former play centre and Chinese takeaway to build 41 new student flats, have been submitted to the City of Lincoln Council.
Killingbeck PLG has applied for permission to demolish “most” of the existing facade of the former home of Imagination Station and Big Wok, on Beaumont Fee, and rebuild it as part of the development.
The main hall, a warehouse and a recently built “link block” to the rear of the building will also be demolished, and will be completely replaced with a new extension.
In documents to the council, the applicant describes how the 41”study bedrooms” will be en-suite and open off a central circulation area.
The build will form part of the Iconinc post-graduate residential units development next door and will sit opposite the Park Court student accommodation on Park Street.
It will include 12 apartments on the ground floor, 11 at first and second floor and seven units on the third floor.
How the build could look.
The application said: “There is a clear need for good quality, post-graduate, city centre, residential accommodation and the economic case for the redevelopment of the site is reinforced by the fact the site can be linked with the new Iconic development so amenities can be shared.
“The demolition of the existing property and the proposed redevelopment will bring positive benefits to the area economically and aesthetically.”
As part of the build, residents will gain shared access to existing facilities including the gym.
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