Unison voices concern over local government’s future funding

Unison
has warned ministers that they must invest in local government following the
Comprehensive Spending Review.

The
trade union welcomed the extra money for education and the NHS but is concerned
about the lack of investment in local government.

The
sector’s 1.2 million workers are to strike on Wednesday over the annual pay
claim. The employers have offered half the 6 per cent the union are demanding.

Dave
Prentis, general secretary at Unison, said: "Local government cannot
survive on the scraps from the spending review. It is constantly being shoved
to the back of the public sector queue and is becoming a weak spot, a gaping
hole in the heart of the Chancellor’s spending plans."

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 "We need joined-up thinking in
government circles – you cannot unblock the beds in our hospitals without
having the back-up available in local government. You must invest in homecare
services, in residential staff care, in the meals on wheels service if you are
going to cut hospital waiting lists."

By Paul Nelson