Portsmouth Anti-Cuts Lobby .
1.P.M. Tuesday 8th December Guildhall Square.
Called by Portsmouth Against the Cuts Together.
We are now facing cuts in Portsmouth of £11m.
Donna Jones and the Tory council are proposing a raft of truly vicious cuts.These will have a serious impact on services across a range of services.
They propose slashing another 100 Council jobs with more to follow.
PACT will be presenting a Needs budget rather than a Cuts budget.
Event page here.
“Under these proposals the City will lose valued public services which are already cut to the bone, as wells as the high quality staff who deliver these services. UNISON will take time to examine the budget proposal and continue to work with the community to fight each and every cut. It is concerning to see preventative services such as substance and alcohol misuse and sexual health being targeted for cuts as this not only helps residents when they are in desperate need but also can reduce demand on other public services, such as the NHS. Eighty percent of residents who responded to the Council’s survey supported protecting public services over freezing Council tax.”
There are cuts in a variety of areas,but most worrying for some are cuts in the anti domestic violence and hate crimes unit.
The proposed cuts in the domestic violence unit are massive.At Christmas time ,domestic violence figures go through the roof,and although these cuts are a bad message at any time of year they send out a very bad one in the run up to Christmas.
There is a proposed cut of £180k in funding for domestic violence support in Portsmouth .
Domestic violence services are not just life changing they are life saving.
Two women are killed at the hands of a partner or ex-partner in the UK every single week.
Apparently in Portsmouth, the police receive a call reporting a domestic abuse incident every three hours.
The Council has been running a reckless anti -refugees campaign over the last couple of months.
Now it wishes to close down the Hate Crimes Unit.The Police are expected to pick up the slack from this with no extra resources in this area.The Hate Crimes Unit is important in providing backup and support before the Police get involved.
Since the Paris bombings Islamophobic attacks have increased by 300%.
These cuts must be opposed.
We have a government that is pushing through Tax cuts for the rich while voting for another war.
The cost of Trident is estimated to be around 100 Billion with one estimate putting its overall running cost at 183 Billion.Past experience has told us this is likely to rise.
This is not about money.
It is about choices.
Please come out and demand that PCC puts people first.
