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A FRIEND OF MINE once worked out that by the time he had paid his two mortgages (one for him, one for his ex-wife), maintenance, food, travel and bills, he had £35 left from his university salary every month. So he took himself out for dinner and spent the lot. He then passed the time, whilst munching, planning how he was going to make some money. His theory was simple: such was the parlous nature of his circumstances that the £35 was neither here nor there; he had to do something seriously different to make ends meet. So he did. And over the coming decades he built up a significant portfolio on the back of creatively solving this monthly problem. Needs must. It’s not much different in local government at the moment. The money is disappearing and in time, new solutions will have to be found. Arguably, there are four questions ahead: How much of what councils do will need to be done by them alone? How much could be done by others – partners, other parts of the public sector? How much could people be persuaded to do themselves? How much could simply be dropped altogether? These are hard questions and will involve some considerable soul-searching. In many parts of the country, the removal of council services will result in significant job losses which, because of the extent to which the economy is reliant upon the public sector, could have a disproportionately negative impact. The private sector may well be reluctant to rush in and fill the gap. The second question poses its own problems. It may be possible to persuade partners to do some of the work normally associated with councils. But they too in time will be facing their own challenges. Whatever politicians say now, budgets will be cut. Nothing surer. Timing will play a part. The third offers some short-term hope. Some sections of the population may be motivated to play a bigger role in civic society. Volunteering offers many benefits to the individual: meeting people, feeling valued, a source of friends, a source of welcome tension, a sense of fulfilment and so on. It’s good for you. Doing your bit brings happiness. Of course, in time, they’ll have to be quietly informed that the state has, to a degree, become dependent upon them. That might not go down so well. Add into the mix the fact that they won’t be paying any less for services – possibly more – and that will set the stage for some emerging local tension. The final option is what to drop altogether. There’s nothing more popular, more likely to cause local unrest than to take away something that people have never used but feel that they may want or need to at some point. The local media, which are also facing Armageddon, will doubtless weigh in behind these causes (for there will be many) and much senior political and executive time will be sucked into a series of black holes from which little but grief will emerge. Of course, everyone hopes that these apparent inevitabilities will be dodged, that a saviour on a White Charger will ride over the hill dispensing cash. Anyone who has dipped into When The Money Runs Out might be tempted to think this unlikely. Our days of growth may be no more. We may be consigned to a slow decline into stagnation. Hope not. But it’s a possibility, according to Stephen D. King. Who knows what lies ahead? I don’t. But it seems increasingly likely that with a current budget deficit of £1.4 trillion, the public sector is likely to have to get used to managing on less. If growth turns out to be less than has been (repeatedly) forecast then what may look now like stringent cuts will have to be savage. Hard questions will have to be asked – and like all hard questions the sooner the better. Time to book a quiet dinner?

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Hard questions to ask and answer

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