Cuts Watch: weekly summary

08 Jun 2010, by Nicola Smith in Cuts Watch

This week we have heard more from the Coalition about the focus of their cuts, with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg committing to ‘progressive cuts‘ and the Chancellor’s Spending Review Framework pledging to ‘cut in a way that strengthens and unites the country’.

In contrast, spending cuts announced over the week seem likely to impact disproportionately on the worst off:

• Cuts in funding for children’s services are extensive: children’s playgrounds, early years services, Sure Start grants, the Connexions advice service, palliative care, extended schools and youth services are all facing funding reductions this year.
• Cutting the previous Government’s committment to provide free school meals for half a million low paid working families is particularly regressive – and sits oddly with a Coalition Government that has been keen to highlight the benefits system’s failure to incentivise work.
• Cutting Supporting People funding will mean that services for groups including homeless people and victims of domestic violence are reduced.

In addition, concern about the impact cuts will have on jobs in the private sector continues to grow, and transport funding looks likely to suffer severe reductions.