Chancellor's autumn statement 2015

Thanks DJ I have signed and posted the page on facebook. This is really scary, the man is a megalomaniac.

speye.wordpress.com/2015/11/26/99-9188-of-ha-tenants-do-not-have-the-right-to-buy/

I do not think we need to worry about all housing association houses being sold off.

Thanks, anno, particularly for sharing it. I do not do facebook or twitter, so I always send links to people I know who do.

The Green Party view of the autumn statement, with a few more areas which are having cuts that were not mentioned in parliament.

www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2015/11/25/comment-osborne-s-spending-review-shows-this-is-an-extremist

Thank you durhamjen - I've signed it.

I've signed the petition on your link dj. and shared it on FB and Twitter.

JessM, the BBC has said it will not use the Met Office much longer. Ridiculous, I think.

I heard on the radio this morning that Citizen's Advice is worried that next year its funding will disappear altogether. Something else to be concerned about.

weownit.org.uk/take-action/dont-sell-our-top-trumps

Believe it or not, there is a group intent on stopping it.

We can say goodbye to the important research carried out by the Met office then.

Slightly off the subject but an issue that is not currently receiving much coverage is the policy of selling public assets in order to reduce debt.

An article in the New Statesman in June this year stated that the government is hoping to net billions more from the sale of public assets.

Mrs Thatcher saw privatisation as an opportunity, through the purchase of shares in newly privatised companies, for ‘popular capitalism’. But shares bought by members of the public were mostly sold immediately and share ownership is reported to be even more concentrated today than in the 1980s. A large number of these companies have been bought up by private – increasingly foreign - owners.

In the Guardian in August 2015 it was reported that George Osborne is to take direct control of all government assets as he prepares to accelerate the sell-off of more state-owned businesses, which may include Channel 4, land around King's Cross and other stations, Companies House, Land Registry, Met Office, Ordnance Survey, the Royal Mint, etc. It is pointed out that this will affect the government's commitment to "open data" since private commercial organisations are not subject to public oversight.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies say such sales will "generate no improvement to the UK's underlying financial position and nor will they help the government achieve the cuts required to annual expenditure because they cannot be repeated in future years".

Sale of "the family silver" will result in short term gain in exchange for the permanent loss of collectively owned public assets and the income that they generate. It is therefore argued that it will aggravate the problem of indebtedness in the long term.

Fully and totally agree JessM, i too have no problem whatsoever with people rolling in cash, spending it on toys like cars or fripperies as long as they have paid their taxes first. Their is a looming issue with social care due to the growing differential between what the staff need and deserve to be paid, and what local authorities are able to afford to pay. It is already common knowledge that staff agencies will not provide care staff to local authorities as the rates paid are insufficient to cover wage costs and what is deemed to be a reasonable profit for the business. I have not studied the statement in full , but I truly believe that if they are allowed to go ahead, these changes will alter the face of this country, and for the worst. The amounts of money being saved are penny pinching in isolation, but have a terrible effect in general. Even ignoring the moral argument and looking at things purely from a balance sheet/accountant's point of view it still doesnt work. A small but typical example in my home town: a pensioner's lunch club, run mainly by volunteers but with legally required employed staff receives a subsidy of under £40,000 per annum, for this it provides essential services such as a square meal but more importantly, it helps relieve the terrible loneliness of some elderly people, loneliness which can lead to isolation, depression and illness. They also advise on help with additional pension, benefits etc. The cost per person attending is minute, yet this is set to close as the local authority has to tighten it's belt even further. The cost to the country as a whole for just one bad fall by just a couple of these lunch club members is more than £40,000. It doesnt even make me angry anymore, it makes me sad. Sad that so many people just cannot see what is happening in front of their eyes.

Tragic. This is just what has been expected - that local authority services like libraries, leisure centres and parks will be closed in order to try to protect the services that go to the most vulnerable in society (social care, child protection etc)
Many of the things that make communities good places to live will disappear under this regime. Indeed many of the things that make this country a good place to live will disappear.
We should all log on to our local authority websites and have a good look - maybe take screen grabs - so that we can see what we have lost by the time of the next general election.
Meanwhile the top 1% - and of course the bankers who are probably in the top 0.001% - have been doing very nicely since the recession and will continue to do so. And they will be insulated from all this because they can afford to have private gyms and swimming pools, belong to expensive sports clubs, buy books by the ton, go to the Royal Opera House, and pay for anything and everything that they need.
I hope their lamborghinis fall down the pot holes.
And before anyone cries "class envy" or indeed "far left" I have no problem with people working hard, running successful businesses and having luxuries as long as they pay their fair whack of tax.

Osborne may have cleverly used smoke and mirrors yesterday so as to present a statement that disguised the fact that he is the most evil politician this country has produced since Oswald Mosley. But the conjuring act cannot possibly last very long.

The Guardian reports that the Local Government Association chairman, Gary Porter, a Conservative peer, described Osborne's plan to change the funding of local governments as a tragic missed opportunity to protect the services “that bind communities together, improve people’s quality of life and protect the most vulnerable”.

Some councils warned that the changes would hit hardest the poorest parts of the country, where there were fewer businesses and taxpayers to make up for lost Whitehall grants.

Lord Porter said ”even if councils stopped filling in potholes, maintaining parks, closed all children’s centres, libraries, museums, leisure centres and turned off every street light, they will not have saved enough money to plug the financial black hole they face by 2020.”

Dr Rhidian Hughes, the director of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, said the social care funding settlement was “woefully inadequate” and that the failure to invest in the sector was “a disgrace”.

POGS - I'm not sure "Council Tax Freeze" is universally implemented. Ours has increased at least 2 points above inflation year on year for the past 5 years.

And that's after the coalition stated it was to happen.

Maybe council tax freezes are just another way of consolidating inequality

I think Osborne's looking more and motte like Mr Micawber - ever the optimist!

The OBR get's its estimates wrong in July, adjusts them in October and lo a magical £27 billion appears!

Of course - since it's a forecast it might not happen.

One of my personal favourites is that councils may keep the proceeds from small business rates - OK if you live in economically prosperous areas - maybe not so good if you are in Redcar

As far as I recall, the Tories back when they were in opposition, gave this pledge.

So I suppose the mandate is from anyone who voted Tory at the last election.

Riverwalk, perhaps the majority feel that foreign aid is a concept set in stone, but who gave the government a mandate to do this, apparently we're the only country that does it.

Good news on the increase in pension but nothing for women like me who have had an extra 6 years or more added to when we can get our state pension.

Gillyknits and Indigo if there have been no comments maybe it's because the majority are happy with the amount spent on overseas aid.

I'm happy to leave it as it is.

To Gillyknits - neither have I, so where are the comments? The .07% of our national income going in foreign aid appears to have been forgotten. But surely the cuts should have started there.

Yes there are people who can afford to buy houses, my concern is for the many on minimum wage and zero hours contracts who cannot buy, there is no social housing for them to rent, a tax is to be placed on landlords which will be passed onto the rent thus upping cost of private housing rentals

No matter if eighty or eight hundred are built to buy in any area, where do those who do not earn enough to buy live ?

Traditionally-Give with one hand and receive with the other

POGS You said: Those on disability , pension credit, housing allowance etc. probably have no council tax levied on them if they have little in savings or income.

While it's true that pensioners are still, for the most part, protected from the changes, it's no longer true that working-age people automatically get 100% exemption from council tax. There have been many changes over the last five years, and this was one of them. Here is a quote from Citizens Advice relating to working-age benefit claimants (many of whom, let's not forget, are working people on very low wages):

You will need to check the rules of your local authority's scheme to see what you are entitled to. It's likely that you will have to pay something towards your council tax bill – even if you were getting full Council Tax Benefit before 1 April 2013.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/help-with-your-council-tax-council-tax-reduction/council-tax-reduction-what-you-need-to-know/

In other words, an increase in council tax will also be felt by people on very low incomes

Haven't see mention of ' foreign aid' on this thread-yet.

Thatcher made it impossible for the proceeds of council housing sales to be used to build more. Here lies the start of lack of housing stock.
Osborne will push more people in to poverty using universal benefit .
When are companies going to be held to account re wage levels? Working tax credits are paid when it is seen that the amount paid for work is insufficient. Tax payers are subsidising low wage paying business.
The use of hard working families as those who should be seen as those who should be assisted ignores those who are unable through caring responsibility or ill health who don't chose not to work but are unable
A country which vilifies its less fortunate and applaudes those who see the price of everything and the value of nothing is in deep trouble.