Maintain the quality and avoid a two-tier system of services

Published: 25 February 2010

• WELL, so the Liberal Democrat-Tory coalition has been running Camden Council with some success for four years, we are told.
The council had an excellent reputation for its work in education, social services and environment under the previous Labour administration and a good council reputation tends to attract good staff. 
It is in no small part that  we owe the continued good performance of the council to its quality staff (and that includes teachers as well as council officers). It is only gradually that the effects of budget cheese-paring become more apparent.
We have indeed seen some signs already with properties lost and the social care budget for the elderly trimmed, but staff are the biggest cost of the council and the effects of staff redundancies on the quality of services will bite even more as other costs rise and budgets are frozen.
Our vibrant voluntary sector, the most vulnerable end of “council services”, including community centres and youth clubs has already seen budget cuts and things do not look good for the future. Do we want a two-class system of services as advocated by Barnet? I don’t think so. 
DEIRDRE KRYMER
Vice-chair, Highgate Labour Party