photo Paul Mattsson

photo Paul Mattsson   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Karen Seymour, Mansfield Socialist Party

Tory-controlled Nottinghamshire County Council wants to cut two-thirds from the budget for early-intervention speech-therapy services. These centres, formerly ‘SureStart’, provide vital help to pre-school children. The cuts will save just £1 million.

It is crucial that speech defects are picked up and dealt with as quickly as possible, to prevent problems in adulthood.

The council also plans to cut the funding for volunteer-led Footsteps, which provides support to mums and pregnant women going through mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

As if those brutal cuts weren’t enough, the council aims to close children’s centres in Broxtowe, Mansfield and Ashfield – all areas of high deprivation.

Enough is enough! No more cuts to our vital public services. Every cut means a drop in our living standards.

The petition by Mansfield Socialist Party on these issues has generated a lot of interest and signatures. And we’re also planning to host a public meeting too. People are starting to see through the Tory lie that austerity is over.

A campaign of service users, their families and trade unions need to be built to oppose these cuts and any others.

Councillors must stand up to the government and refuse to implement crippling austerity. If they won’t, we need to elect those who will.