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Well, there is often a little relief on the conclusion of a successfully-run election by returning officers. Many returning officers who are also chief executives or officers on their corporate management teams knew our sector would be in for severe financial and other challenges, post election. What will not become clear until probably late autumn is the detailed financial impact on each council which will then lead to further decisions on staffing and services leading up to councils setting their budgets by February 2011. Councils have already been delivering year-on-year savings, and my own council at Tandridge has implemented a number of practical measures to reduce our costs through partnership working, business service re-engineering, freezing staff vacancies since September 2008, securing staff support to set aside their pay award, and members setting aside their pay award. Many district and borough councils were facing savings of £500,000 or more, year on year, at a time when income from fees, charges and investments are down, and demand for services and support is up. Reducing the workforce and reducing our spend through suppliers both have a negative impact on services and our economy. The private sector and local businesses are supported through orders and income from the councils. In addition, many local people in our communities are directly or indirectly employed in the public sector. Cutting public sector funding will, therefore, impact on local businesses and communities, both in terms of jobs and economic movement and business survival. It will also have an impact on community development and cohesion if more people become unemployed or services are reduced or withdrawn. This, in turn, will effect payments in benefits, the cost of retraining programmes, and job centres. For many local authority chief executives, the future looks uncertain to me, in terms of funding of councils and the impact on local communities, businesses and our overall economic position. Tandridge DC had – and still has – a number of celebrities living within the district. One such famous British actor and comedian was Tony Hancock, who lived in Blindley Heath for a while. Looking at the current and future proposals on cuts is seriously worrying. I try to be optimistic and had a memory flash that put a smile back on to my face, even in these difficult times. I recall an episode of Hancock's Half Hour – younger readers will need to research the web – where Hancock arrives to donate blood. There is the usual ‘banter' during which the end of his finger is pricked with a needle to take a small sample to identify his blood group. At this point, he seeks recognition for his brave donation and asks where his tea and biscuits are. He is then informed that this was merely a sample and that a pint will be required. I seem to recall him saying ‘but that's a whole armful' or words to that effect. Well, I fear the current cuts being reported are the same as the pin-prick, and we in the sector have yet to be required to deliver the ‘arm full'. And unlike Hancock, this is no laughing matter. Stephen Weigel is chief executive of Tandridge DC

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WHITEHALL

District View

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