This week Local Government Minister Eric Pickles announced plans to pay local councils to restore weekly bin collections at a cost of £250m.
The move which has been celebrated by the Daily Mail Brigade has been slammed by environmental groups and local communities who have had services cut due the government’s spending cuts.
We are committed to recycling targets and this would be a step backwards in meeting the environmental needs we must take seriously.
It is baffling to see how this is the best way to spend £250m of tax payers money. We have adapted to fortnightly bin collections and as a result we recycle more. In a time where we’re seeing cuts to policing, care home closures, and cuts to education projects, why are we even contemplating spending this amount of money on something most of the country got used to years ago.
Here are 10 projects, with the amount of funding needed, that have seen their funding cut by the government. All could be reinstated with just a fraction of the £250m:
1 – Stay on in Liverpool – £750,000.
2 – Refurbishment of Elmlea Infants School, Bristol – £4.5m.
3 – Employment Scheme, Bradford – £500,000.
4 – Childrens Play Equipment, Huddersfield – £1.5m.
5 – Breaking the Barriers Greenhouse Group, which helps disabled people get back into work – £770,000.
6 – Think Family Scheme, Gloucester – £350,000.
7 – Closure of GP surgeries, Northern Ireland, £3.6m.
8 – Libraries and Museums, Renfrewshire – £299,000.
9 – Innovative Vision Organisation, London, which provides care and support for African HIV/AIDS sufferers – £52,000.
10 – Day Care Centres, Liverpool – £9m.
Source – The Independent
These are just 10 of hundreds of cuts which could be reversed. It’ll be a disgrace to this country if we waste our money in this way. It’s a simple question of priorities.
East London Mike 