Cutbacks will hit schoolkids and community halls
A LOCAL MP fears the budget set by East Dunbartonshire Council is out of order.
Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson said: "Although cuts inevitably need to be made to council spending, the Labour-Tory admin-istration has chosen to slash some of the most valued services and looked to the most vulnerable people to make ends meet in their budget."
One area the council has attempted to make savings is by extending the distance criteria for access to council transport to school.
The rule now is that a primary school child must live over two miles from the school and a secondary school pupil three miles.
Ms Swinson said: "Expecting secondary school children to walk almost three miles is unfair and will only increase the burden on parents, and create more congestion and pollution around our schools."
There will also be a review of public halls.
The MP said: "Our public halls are much-valued community facilities and a great many groups and organisations will be disappointed if their meeting places are closed."
However, council leader Rhondda Geekie disagreed with Jo Swinson's assessment.
She said: "We tried to protect the vulnerable as much as possible. For example, we didn't increase care of garden charges as much as other budgets or remove the service altogether as some would."
She added that no funding was taken away from the voluntary sector.
Councillor Geekie stressed that to make the necessary 8million worth of savings, cuts had to be made somewhere.
She believes the MP is exaggerating concerns about public halls.
She said: "Halls have successful models of community ownership. We have expressions of interest for two of the halls and I don't believe it's as big a problem as Miss Swinson makes out."
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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