The impact of ‘austerity’ cuts on Scotland’s public services
Lilian Macer, UNISON’s Scottish Convener : “It’s impossible to take this level of funding and staffing out of public services without serious problems arising over time. And most of the cuts are still to come. It’s a major assault on services everybody relies on.
“Some problems may become visible suddenly and dramatically if something goes wrong, for example in food safety, or hospital cleaning where lives can be put at risk.
“Others may not be noticed in headline news, but are also deeply damaging to the people affected, their families and communities.
“It could be local libraries closing, or the rushed – and very impersonal – 15 minute care visits your grandmother gets, or children whose lives could have been helped and turned around with proper social work support and intervention. Then there is the isolation of people who relied on day care centres that have closed down.
“And there are too many false economies where preventive spending now, for example on a range of early years initiatives, or on reducing obesity, or keeping schools and hospitals properly maintained is judged unaffordable, yet stacks up problems for the future.”
https://unison-scotland.org/wp-content/uploads/TheCutsDontWork_UNISONScotlandReport_June2014.pdf