Liverpudlians are more likely to be aware of local council cuts than residents in three other major cities, a new survey has revealed.
The polling, conducted for the independent trust Power to Change, found 69% of people living in Liverpool are aware of the financial cuts that have been made to council-run services since 2010.
The average for the rest of England is 60%, with only 53% of Londoners being aware of the budget restraints.
The survey also found 83% of Liverpudlians said the cuts had made a slight or strong negative impact on them, compared to 70% of people in London.
Richard Harries, Director of the Power to Change Research Unit, said: ‘Continued austerity policies are being felt across England, and evidently Liverpool is feeling it more than most.
‘We make a mistake if we treat local communities as passive players in all this. Increasingly, people are stepping in to save the spaces and buildings that they love and running them for themselves, like the libraries and public land brought back to life in Croxteth by Alt Valley. Even in tough times, these sorts of community businesses can transform places which are otherwise in danger of falling into disrepair.’
Previous research from Power to Change found local authorities in England hold assets worth up to £7bn which could be handed on to communities to run for themselves.