The Council Cuts

Scotland faces the prospect of waves of industrial unrest, 'poverty wages', neighbourhood deterioration and rising rates of mental health problems as cuts to council budgets start to bite, it has been claimed. The decision by the country's 32 local authorities to reluctantly accept the Scottish Government's financial package for the year ahead has sparked warnings that the coming weeks will see the human cost of the biggest cash blow to councils in a generation unfold. Councils face a £1billion black hole in the next 12 months, with a £500million cut from Government and the same again in spending pressures.

One major union said the upshot will see many low-paid workers "pushed from stable home environments to foodbanks", adding that neighbourhoods in urban areas would witness a notable deterioration in quality of life as authorities make cutbacks to refuse collection, roads maintenance and parks upkeep.  The trade union Unison said that in South Lanarkshire around a dozen facilities for people with learning disabilities or the elderly will shut, up to 200 posts for people working with children with support issues or providing support to teachers will be axed and the number of social workers and social work assistants reduced. Argyll and Bute sets its budget today and if the proposals are accepted, Unison claims hundreds of council jobs will go including 20 per cent of their clerical assistants, classroom assistants, janitors and all 10 of the high school librarians.

 Benny Rankin, the GMB union's organiser in Glasgow, said: "Many of our members will lose around £1,000 in changes to their terms and conditions. That's enough to push you from a stable family environment to poverty wages and foodbanks. Back courts in many places are already in a state. Changes here will make that much worse with overflowing bins and industrial action taking us back to the 1970s."

National GMB organiser Alex McLuckie added: "You're talking up to half of all support staff in schools going in some areas. That's people working with children with disabilities, while home care becomes a pit stop for staff. "We've calculated around 9000 job losses. Nothing we're seeing is alerting that."

Meanwhile, the group which represents care providers for adults with disabilities and for older people through to those with homeless and addiction issues, said there was unprecedented anxiety amongst its 200,000-plus service users and 45,000 staff. The Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) said the Government's requirement councils top up salaries for care sector staff meant they would simply spend less on those who need the services. CCPS director Annie Gunner Logan said: "There are only so many ways disabled people needing a shower can 'do things differently'."

Ian Hood, of the Learning Disability Alliance, said many people requiring social care, particularly younger people with "unfolding needs", would no longer meet eligibility criteria as councils cut back. He added: "We're already seeing people's care cut from 16 hours to three, leaving them stranded at home. Other services are no longer considered essential, like employment services for disabled adults. This keeps the cycle of poverty going and with the closure of day centres means increased mental health issues for many people and their carers."