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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Hundreds of people queued outside Debenhams and at several barbers and salons in the city as Lincoln, and the rest of England, entered the next stage of the roadmap out of coronavirus lockdown on Monday, April 12.
The latest rules allow for the retail sector to fully reopen its doors for customers again, two weeks after the previous lockdown easing on March 29 which resumed outdoor socialising for up to six people – see the list of rules here.
Debenhams especially had a big queue as it got nearer to its 10am reopening time for its final ever closing down sale before it closes permanently later this year.
The queue for Debenhams went round the corner. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Kutz Barber Shop on Newport also had a long line of people eagerly awaiting their lockdown cut in what is expected to be a busy day for hairdressers and barbers in the city.
People were also seen waiting outside barbers including Barbershop By Giovanni on Guildhall Street in Lincoln, and several other barber shops down the lower High Street.
People were also keen to get a lockdown haircut with queues including at Kutz Barber Shop on Newport in Lincoln. | Photo: Daniel Jaines for The Lincolnite
The queue outside Barbershop By Giovanni on Guildhall Street in Lincoln. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
Primark also had a queue outside, although not to the same huge extent as when it reopened after previous lockdown easing last summer when people were waiting from as early as 6am. The queue didn’t get longer until later in the day this time.
The queue at Primark in Lincoln continued to get longer as the morning went on. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
Énergie Fitness (Lincoln City) reopened in the Cornhill and reportedly had queues before 6am as gyms welcomed back their customers again.
People are also looking forward to having a pint with friends and family as pubs and bars can serve now customers outside. They will be able to reopen inside from May 17.
Shops in Lincoln are excited to be back open again. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The High Street was quieter before 9am, with less mad rushes this time! | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A City Centre Warden on Lincoln High Street as more businesses reopened on April 12. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
The windows being cleaned at House of Fraser in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A Lincoln family will open the next business in its Greek2Me brand this summer with a traditional Greek bakery in the city.
Greek2Me Bakery will open in a unit formerly occupied by now-liquidated sandwich bar Fodders Fine Foods on Newland in Lincoln. Planning permission had previously been given to a kebab shop, but it failed to come to fruition, and the unit has since been taken on by Greek2Me.
The family from Rhodes in Greece are really excited about the new bakery, which is expected to be open by early June. They are also putting the finishing touches to the new Greek2Me takeaway at the Birchwood Shopping Centre, which opens on April 20.
Greek2Me Bakery will serve traditional Greek pastries, cheese and spinach pies, fresh cream type cakes, a mix of English style and Mediterranean sandwiches, Greek salads and coffees, as well as vegetarian and vegan options. Other dishes such as Moussaka will hopefully be added in the future.
For those with a sweet tooth, there will also be traditional Greek desserts, including Baklava, Kadaiifi and Galaktoboureko.
The bakery is hoping to open Monday to Saturday between 8am and 6pm, although this is still being finalised.
There will also be seating outside and a breakfast bar inside for people to use depending on the government restrictions when the bakery opens.
Joanne Macphee-Papadopoulou will run the bakery, which will create around seven new jobs.
She told The Lincolnite: “I think there is such a lot of diversity in Lincoln now, it is getting bigger and there are people from all walks of life.
“People appreciate good food and good coffees and we are hoping to offer an experience to help make you feel like you are there in Greece. When we go back to Greece this is what we eat and there is a market for something different in Lincoln.
“Greek2Me is growing very rapidly and it has been exciting times in our house, and this will offer something different and more of a daytime thing for the people of Lincoln.”
Inside Greek2Me’s new takeaway at the Birchwood Shopping Centre, which opens on April 20.
Joanne was the manager of the coffee shop bakery at Cooplands in the Bailgate when the family first moved from Greece to Lincoln in 2012.
She then worked as a server at Carluccio’s with her partner Christos Papadopoulos, and they wanted to bring their own authentic Greek food to the city.
They purchased The Plough pub in Nettleham in 2015, from where they serve food including Greek cuisine. This is run by Christos and their son George, who is the General Manager. The pub is reopening again on Monday, April 12 in line with the latest government guidelines.
Joanne and Christos’ other son Spryos manages the Greek2Me takeaway next door to the pub in Nettleham and will also run the new Birchwood business.
The new bakery will be the latest business in the Greek2Me brand.
Louise Brown, who owns the building located at 27 Newland, told The Lincolnite: “We are very happy that it will be Greek2Me as they offer quality and a track record that will be a great improvement to the area.”
Volunteers from Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue helped save the life of a fox who was “minutes away from being killed” just outside the coastal town.
The team received a call about a fox with its neck in a snare on Sunday, April 11. However, as the volunteers drove to the scene near North Thoresby they got another call to say the fox was about to be shot.
After arriving at the scene, the team had a short discussion with the land owner who agreed to let them relocate the fox rather than kill it (for the safety of his livestock).
Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue said: “As we were getting it out of the snare, the shooter arrived and all we could say is ‘You’re one lucky fox’.
“This young boy is now going to be relocated in a similar area near to a friend we know who loves foxes and will be able to help us to ensure it settles in.”
The fox was saved from being killed. | Photo: Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue
The fox has since been released and the team are also going to support the land owner with non-lethal measures going forward.
The rescue team told The Lincolnite: “We are so thankful that the land owner decided to let us relocate the fox rather than it being killed.
“Sadly, foxes can’t distinguish between a wild meal and a farmers’ livestock, and this is what causes so much hatred for foxes in the countryside.
“They’re beautiful and incredibly smart animals, but this is often what gets them in trouble!
“After getting the fox into a travel crate we spent about 20 minutes talking to the land owner and his friend about the wildlife in the area and how we could work together for any future foxes rather than them being put to sleep. It was a good outcome for all!”
Earlier this month, Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue helped with the emergency rescue of a seal pup.
As a volunteer rescue service, it does not get any funding aside from donations via fundraising to save wildlife and keep up with the regular food and vet bills.
The team are currently trying to fundraise for up to four intensive care incubators – make a donation here.
Two Lincoln boys have been commended by Lincolnshire Police for their quick thinking in reporting a knife they found on their way to school.
Diego and Cohen, who are in Year 6 at St Peter at Gowts Church of England Primary School, found the steel vegetable knife under a Jeep Cherokee on St Martin’s Street in Lincoln in March.
The 10-year-old boys reported it to a teacher as soon as they arrived at school. The school reported it to police and the weapon was retrieved by PCSO James Lingard, who is from Lincoln’s Neighbourhood Policing Team.
The steel vegetable knife was found under a Jeep Cherokee in Lincoln. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Police are unsure how the knife got there, but don’t believe it was used in a crime. The knife has since been destroyed.
The boys said: “We spotted something shiny under the car and then we realised it was a knife. We knew that we shouldn’t touch it but that we had to let someone know, so we told our teacher straight away.
“It was really scary as we were worried that someone might find it and use it to do something bad with it like hurt themselves or someone else.
“Our school and our parents were really pleased that we made a good choice and it was really exciting that officer Lingard came to see us at school too.”
Emma Bradley, Year 6 teacher at the school, added: “It is really heart-warming for us to see our pupils making a difference in the local community.
“We are really proud of the actions of Cohen and Diego and both are absolutely over the moon to have been recognised by the police.”
PCSO Lingard was also full of praise for the boys and he said: “Cohen and Diego made an outstanding decision and their quick thinking ensured that we could take the knife away before anyone could move it.
“It is still a mystery how the knife got there but we don’t believe it had been used in any crime thankfully and its now been destroyed.
“Through our Operation Raptor we work to help young people understand the dangers and consequences of knives and we will be sure to tell other school children of how Cohen and Diego helped to keep Lincoln safe.”
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