Austin Macauley 21 January 2016

Cuts are 'not realistic' and show 'misunderstanding' among ministers, council tells PM

Political leaders from all sides at East Sussex Council have joined forces to issue a plea to David Cameron over latest cuts, warning they are unrealistic and betray a lack of understanding about local government.

The local authority has revealed it will have to raise council tax by 3.99% from April as it attempts to deal with £70-90m of savings by 2019.

Six group leaders sent the joint letter to the prime minister to raise their concerns about the damage this will inflict on the quality of local services. In it they warned him funding allocations did not reflect the 'varying needs' of different areas and that East Sussex's ageing population made it particularly vulnerable to cuts.

Cllr Glazier said: 'The fact that leaders of all parties have put their names to this letter shows that this is an issue which transcends politics.

'We have done everything possible to ensure we bear our share of the burden of reducing the national deficit, and produce a balanced and responsible budget, but the savings we are now having to make will place a heavy burden on some of our residents.

'We’re calling on the Government to acknowledge the impact of funding cuts, particularly on social care authorities, to work more closely with local councils and to adopt a fairer approach to the way it allocates funding.'

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