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STOKE-ON-TRENT City Council was accused yesterday of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” over its plan to slash 250 jobs to fund children’s services.
The proposal, which will be considered by the full council on October 17, follows an Ofsted inspection that was highly critical of the authority’s services for youngsters.
Unite regional officer Mick Stevens said: “This is another example of the adverse impact of nearly a decade of the Tories taking the financial cudgels to local government funding.
“What we have here is a classic case of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’
“Cutting about 250 jobs from services across the council to give a much-needed improvement to children’s services should not be an ‘either or’ decision.
“We don’t believe that the residents of Stoke-on-Trent are best served by this unpalatable diet of cuts and call on councillors to urgently reconsider the plans.”
An online petition launched by Unite’s community branch in protest at the cuts has attracted more than 770 signatures.
Council leader Abi Brown said: “The recent Ofsted inspection highlighted the urgent need to make children’s services and protecting our vulnerable young people our number one priority.”
