Title

Have you noticed the column inches the press have been devoting to the public sector recently? Unfortunately, most of this attention has not been positive. Since the economy took a nosedive, much attention has been focused on the banking sector and its excesses and failings which fuelled the crash. However, it seems that now we have crashed, and with public spending cuts looming, attention has turned to us. There seems to be increasing press concern around a perceived ‘growing divide between a burgeoning public sector and struggling private sector'. As an example, many newspapers have recently targeted public sector pensions as being unfairly generous. The fact that these are financed and part of a package designed to attract and retain high-calibre staff never got a look in. We have to use this opportunity to engage on difficult issues and address concerns. It's now more important than ever to demonstrate the importance of our services and the value we offer. We are, don't forget, the best-performing sector in the public services. We haven't had to take hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer's money to bail us out just to be solvent. We have just delivered the lowest-average council tax rise for some years. We have become leaner and meaner organisations, meeting ever-tougher efficiency targets and inspection regimes. And because of this, we can adapt better to new financial pressures than any other sector, private or public. The press attention will soon move on to find another target, but let's counter this reporting head-on, and be proud and promote the achievements we have made. Let's remind all that we deliver vital value-for-money public services which, in these times of downturn, will become ever more essential to our communities. Mike Suarez is director of finance at Lambeth LBC

Title

FINANCE

Money Matters

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING