Living with Cuts: Austerity Town Panorama

Welcome to Austerity Town. Like all communities, saving money wherever

it can. We're ?11 million worse off on Government grant in 2016/17. We

need to find ?65 million worth of savings over four years.

For six years we've all been living with austerity. People can't get

help that they need, like myself. But how much can a community take?

You have been told if anything like that happens again, it will be the

police that's going to have to be involved. I know what you're saying.

And what gets lost when budgets are cut. Let me just remind you that I

do have a Taser here, which is 50,000 volts. Occasions like this,

it may be easier to have somewhere like Selby open. As the new Prime

Minister decides what to do about austerity, we show what life is like

for one community - living with cuts.

This is my local town, Selby in North Yorkshire. Like most places,

it's been changed by austerity. Six years of cuts have taken millions of

pounds out of the town. You notice the effect on services

first, I think. It's the disadvantage in society who feel the

effects of austerity hardest. If the pot's empty, you live to your means.

You've got to cut. I'm very sorry, but that's how it is. We're so far

in debt, that you've got to sort that out. I do believe that if

they'd done it over a longer period, the effect would have been less of

an impact on people's lives. Have a free taster... Since 2010 national

spending on local Government has halved. So how does a town cope with

that? Well we've spent the year here to find out. Austerity is biting in

towns like Selby. This is a programme about communities and how

they survive with less money from the Government. It's just before

Christmas at North Yorkshire County Council. With a ?480 million budget,

it's the council that pays for most services in Selby. Since 2010, the

money it has to spend has reduced by a quarter. Right. County treasurer,

Gary Fielding, has just found out from the Government how much he'll

have to spend over the next four years. It's bad news. You ready for

me? Now Gary has to tell the bosses. OK. Been an eventful few days, shall

we say. Here's the headlines: The cuts, we were expecting them, yes.

They're bigger and they're earlier. In terms of next year, we're ?11

million worse off. So three-and-a-half months to go, we've

got an extra ?11 million of savings we need to find. More than 100

managers have already gone. And the council has made big efficiency

savings. But the planned cuts still won't be enough. 17/18, the year

after, it's ?9 million worse, on top of the 11 million. You've got to

understand, just the scale of what we're doing any way and now this is

twice as bad. It's not going to be such a happy new year, is it? I

think you'll see more areas where we're looking for communities to

take up delivery of services. You'll see that more and more over the next

few years. What does that mean? Things like libraries, community

transport, things like befriending services for older people. We're

increasingly looking at other individuals to help deliver some of

those services. That can mean asking volunteers to run public services.

Terry is one of Selby's army of unpaid workers. Late as usual. Bye,

dear. He manages a team of volunteers at a local library.

Without them, this place would have closed. Most people would prefer it

if the council could carry on providing the library service, but

in the real world, that's simply not going to happen. I'm looking up

bread recipes. Nationally the number of library volunteers has nearly

doubled, as councils cut paid staff. Did you have some doubts about

whether this was a sensible system? Yes, of course. Your initial

reaction is, you know, as a group of volunteers, we're taking people's

jobs, aren't we? I'm sure there are some people who still think like

that. At the end of the day, I think we now know, year on year, there's

increasing cuts. We're never going to go back to running things the way

they used to be. North Yorkshire has so far saved more than ?2 million

from its library budget, but only one of its 43 libraries has closed.

Let's go to the gym. For some, budget cuts could change their

lives. Simon has a learning disability, so he relies on help

from his support worker Oli. Let's do some good workout. Simon's trying

to lose weight. How's it going? Fine. You lost two-and-a-half

pounds. Two-and-a-half pounds. How long are you doing? Ten minutes. If

you find it too easy, put the level up. Oli works for the charity Mencap

and it's paid by the council. See what you mean Oli. What does Oli

help you with? With my banking and my bills. What else is there,

shopping, what else do you help with? Day trips, booking things,

holidays. Yeah. Things like that, he wouldn't be able... To do that. On

his own. Nonchts. -- On his own. No. Simon gets 18 hours of personal

support from Oli a week. But it costs the council ?13 an hour and

Simon is worried his hours might be cut. If Oli's not there to help,

what will that be like? I won't do the things that I'm doing now. How

would you feel? I won't be happy. I won't be my normal self. I won't do

the things what I enjoy doing. What do you think he would be like?

Normally, he's bubbly, a good sense of humour. He would be so unhappy.

We don't want to see that, do we? No, definitely not.

Back at county hall, Gary, the treasurer, has drawn up a budget to

deal with the latest cuts. If you remember when I did the last

members' seminar, I said it could have been worse after the Spending

Review. Well, it is now. So let's get to that straight away. It is

worse. As well as cutting services, council tax will have to go up to

balance the books. We're ?11 million worse off on Government grant in

2016/17. So we need to find ?65 million worth of savings over the

next four years. All of that assumes, in addition, that we're

going to put council tax up 3. 99%. The council says it's done what it

can to protect frontline services. 60% of the savings so far have been

found in the back office. Some of them just, "Oh, here we go again."

But they're a savvy lot. They've been through this beforehand. I

don't think they're surprised. They'll be pretty depressed for a

while and they'll come out of it. It's not just the council that's

cutting back. In 2010, North Yorkshire police had ?147 million to

spend. Now, it has about ?10 million less. It's also using more

volunteers. You're going home now? So the sergeant knows? Yeah, he's

been informed. See you when we get back. This is the police station in

the village of Eggborough, just outside sell bri. It's only --

Selby. It's only open thanks to the unpaid locals who staff the desk. My

mother knitted that. I think she's proud of what we do here. He's 85

years old. She supports us all the way. Volunteers, like Steve and

Wayne, patrol the countryside, looking for crime. Since 2010, the

number of volunteers has nearly doubled to 244 across the county. Go

ahead. We're just about to leave the station and go out on patrol. Their

work is overseen by paid police officers. But the volunteers will

investigate, if they see something suspicious, like a van in a field.

Do you want to get out? Blue van in the field. I've checked to see if

there's anybody walking dogs about, and I can't see any dog walkers with

it. We'll have a look and see if we can get nearer to it. If it's

serious, Steve and Wayne will call the police for support. I think it's

just worth having a ride and just trying to get some more details on

it, so we can check it out. Before we call it in. North Yorkshire

Police say volunteers aren't used to replace real officers. Hi, mate, are

you all right? But they help expand the force, while keeping costs down.

Everything's OK. It's their vehicle. We're just another eyes and ears for

the Police Service. Rural crime covers a big, big area. It is a

little bit difficult to police it. No, we're not there to take their

role. At the end of the day, more eyes on the ground is better.

Everything is being reassessed because of the cuts. That makes it a

worrying time for families who rely on the council for help. The

Doughtys care for their severely disabled daughter Molly-Anne. She's

in nappies, she's doubly incontinent. She has a heart

condition, she has seizures. She doesn't eat or sleep. She's tube

fed. She's got quite a list. If you meet her, you wouldn't think that

all those things exist because she is a little star. She is a proper

fighter. Coat off. Big girl. They get ?14,000 a year from the council

to pay for Molly-Anne's care. But the council's care system is being

restructured. It's cutting ?800,000 from its budget for disabled

children, that's a 12% cut. It scares me that I'm not going to be

in a position to care for her the way that I should care for her. That

scares me, because she's my daughter and she relies on us to keep her

alive. If we didn't give her the medications, if we didn't give her

the food and water... She relies on us for every aspect of her care. She

wouldn't be here. The council says the needs of disabled children are

always safely and effectively met. They don't live it. They don't live

this life. No, but it's their job. But it's not the local council. The

local councils have to rule it out. Yes. They're shooting the messenger.

I know it's shooting the messenger. It really annoys me. I just have a

problem with people in county hall making these decisions. You think

they're happy to make the cuts? I don't think they're happy, but I

don't think they lose any sleep over it. That's what my problem S I don't

think they go home at night and they're worrying about it. Whereas

we -- Whereas we have to live it. It's

budget day at county hall. Today, the council is finalising decisions

that will affect lives across the county. Good morning, chairman, good

morning members. The council has been asking the Government for more

cash. I want to thank our MPs for taking up our concerns, after the

draft settlement. I do want to thank the Secretary of State and

Chancellor for listening to our concerns. The council's been given

an extra ?15 million over the next two years. But it will still need to

cut ?50 million from its budget by 2020. So over a decade, its spending

power will have fallen by a third. I can't support this. There's no way I

can support anything that raises council tax and at the same time

cuts services. If we look at the situation... It's time for the

budget to be put to the vote. The result of the vote is as follows:

For the motion, 53. Against the motion, 2. So the motion is carried.

Simon's care has been reviewed. His 18 hours of weekly support from Oli

will be cut to seven. The council says the reviews are not about

saving money, they are about giving people choice and control in their

lives. Hello. You all right? Those providing Simon's care are worried

how he will cope with less support. Do you want some coffee? Simon's

family lives abroad and he has no one else to look after him. Have you

spoken to your dad, lately? Yes, today. Is he OK? Everybody is fine.

You went last year? Sometimes you go? Yes, with someone taking me

there. We take you to the airport. And bring me back. It's

heartbreaking to think that mencap and the support workers have worked

so hard building Simon up to what he is today. To think that it is

something we're not going to be able to do in the future, with the seven

hours we are expected to work with him.

Care for the elderly is also under pressure. 80-year-old Jean is

another volunteer doing her bit. Every week, she phones isolated

elderly people in Selby to check they are OK. Are you all right,

darling? I still haven't heard back from social services about William.

I wonder what has happened to him. I'll keep trying, anyway. They are

people on their own, they have very few visitors. They lead lonely

lives. It's just to give them a bit of conversation, maybe take them out

of themselves and see that they are being looked after. Age UK Selby

used to visit some of these elderly people in person. But the council

change the contract, now it is Jean and a phone line. The council says

it is a reorganisation, rather than a cut, and money has been diverted

to other services. Hello, Betty, it's Jean. How are you feeling now?

Well, I was crying my eyes out. I've been so upset. 87-year-old Betty had

a fall last year and the pain is hard to manage. All of the

painkillers he's given me, it's not doing me any good. She's been

confined to a chair in her living room for the last seven months. I'm

interested to know what you've been up to. Well, nothing exciting. What

can I do? I wanted to meet Betty in person.

You all right? Route yes, lovely to meet you. How are you feeling? Much

better after meeting you! You old smoothie! I don't get out of this

chair, nicely Bennett and sit in it all day, I can't. All of these Age

UK people, they have been life-savers for me. What difference

is that, that they used to sit with you and now it is just a telephone

call? Anything more personal is really... Well, they are both very

nice, but you feel you are closer to people coming to visit you than on

the phone. You get a picture of them. Betty is upset about the

support she has to fund. She pays for care, cleaning and extra help

around the house. What do you think about the cuts? Bad! Why? Why?

People can't get the help that they need, like myself. The individual

cuts can seem unfair, but if the books to balance, the money has to

be saved somewhere. Selby has a Conservative MP. Both the district

and County Council have Tory majorities. So, people here, like

voters across the United Kingdom, they chose cuts. And those cuts

changing Selby. Bus services have been substantially reduced. Some

streets are left with almost no lighting after midnight. The

Magistrates' Court has closed. CCTV has been cut back and the weekend

street wardens have gone. Even the police cells have been shut. Two

male offenders have entered the store, one distracted the female

member of staff... It means officers on tonight's shift will have to take

anyone they arrest to York. It's a 15 mile Drive each way. Lovely,

thank you very much. The force says savings like this help protect

front-line jobs. But North Yorkshire still has 160 fewer officers than in

2010. Tonight's shift is busy. It's 4am and five police officers are

called to a domestic row. Don't BLEEP-ing wind me up! What have I

done? What have I done? Why? Let me remind you that I have a taser,

50,000 volts. Almost every officer in town is needed to handle the

situation. Leave me! Just kill me! Kill me! That is with their numbers

boosted by a special constable. David! Heidi is another unpaid

volunteer. I'm going to kill every BLEEP-ing one of them! The round

trip to York will take at least an hour. With crime up slightly in the

town, this is one of the change is most worrying locals. You BLEEP-ing

wait till I get out of here! On occasions like this, it might be

easier to have somewhere like Selby open. It saves such a lot of time. A

long journey, with somebody quite worked up. But we manage. I'm not

scared of you! Back in Selby, the Sergeant tells us

that all of these savings have had much less of an effect on policing

and some people think. It's always been the case that we've had to

transport anybody who is violent to York, even when we have the cells at

Selby. They are not staffed with a full capacity of custody staff. If

somebody was a violent or have significant health risks, that duty

of care is paramount, so they would always go to one of the larger

stations, where they could be looked after properly.

What are we doing out here? It's summer, and Simon has now been

living with less support for Tim Ackermans. We've been through your

support plan and it is up-to-date. His behaviour has already changed

for the worse. We have been having phone calls from the clubs you are

attending. It's about your behaviour when you are there, around your

ex-girlfriend. When she is talking to other people. I get a bit

jealous, that's true. You started to shout and people are getting scared,

because you are shouting. I know. I just have to walk away. But you keep

saying this. You got yourself into a situation where you were lucky that

person didn't take it any further. You have been told that if anything

like that happens again, it would be the police that are going to have to

be involved. I know. What did he do? He hit somebody. You think it is

because his hours have been reduced? I don't think it helped. How does it

make you feel? Angry, quite upset for Simon. I think society is

letting Simon down. I think a lot of vulnerable people are going to end

up in a situation where they will end up criminalised, through lack of

support. The Doughtys are still waiting for a

decision from the Council about their daughter's care. But things

have changed for them. The couple have now split up. They say

financial pressures were partly to blame. I'm angry. I know you aren't,

but I am. I'm sorry, I am angry because of what we've lost. They

still worry about what the council might cut. If everything was perfect

and we had a perfect life, I would be out to work, my daughter would

not be poorly, we would not rely on the care system, she would go to

school, she would play like any other 11-year-old. The problem is,

our life has been given to us and we don't make that choice but to live

on what they give us. At County Paul, they've managed to

balance the books for now. -- County Hall. But Gary says local government

has changed forever. We will always provide essential services to the

most vulnerable. The change has got to happen, even on front line

services. The cuts have to touch everything. That's the scale. But

that doesn't mean just stopping doing things. Quite often it means

doing things differently, thinking creatively about how we do it.

In the autumn, the government will decide what to do about public

spending. The story so far in places like Selby is saving money and using

volunteers. But, in Austerity Town, it's getting harder and harder to

find the next cut. Hello, I'm Alex Bushill

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