Telford service cuts 'planned to anger the public'

Stuart Parr, chairman of Telford & Wrekin Ukip, said there were many cost-saving alternatives that should have been considered before chopping frontline services.

He claimed the move by the Labour-run council was "politically motivated".

Councillor Lee Carter, the authority's finance chief, said the council had no option but to make the cuts as it faces up to the reality of saving a further £30 million over the next two years.

But, ahead of the borough's Tory group producing its own alternative budget, Mr Parr criticised the cuts. He said: "Most of the cuts they have identified are a false economy and seem to have been chosen to get people as angry as possible about the Government's austerity agenda.

"While we recognise the unprecedented demands on local councils, any cuts need to be directed at non-core services. Closing council-run youth facilities is a false economy.

"The cost of dealing with anti-social behaviour and lack of attainment that would arise from losing youth services would far outweigh the savings from closing services."

Mr Parr said Ukip did support the handing over of council-run markets to private companies and the gifting of community centres to local groups, but said the closing of libraries was "completely unacceptable".

"We genuinely empathise with the council in having to deal with swingeing and unsustainable cuts to local government funding," he said.

"But essential services need to be protected – not threatened simply to whip up fury at the government. The idea that the council should close community centres such as Brookside Central or Randlay Community Centre that they have recently spent millions of pounds regenerating is absurd, and to do so would be criminally irresponsible.

"The council should have trimmed back its spending years ago rather than increasing it and borrowing to such unsustainable levels. But looking to the future, we would urge Telford & Wrekin Council not to take a short-term view on cuts."

Councillor Carter said: "We do not want to be making these decisions but the scale of the cut in government grant – 20 per cent next year alone – is such that we have no choice.

"Many of the most significant cuts are due to come into effect in April 2017 so that we can talk with the community. We are already starting many positive discussions with town and parish councils to look at how this could be done."

The Conservative group at Telford & Wrekin Council is set to produce its own budget ideas tomorrow.