Burnley councillor's bid to stop cuts fails (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Burnley councillor's bid to stop cuts fails

10:00am Monday 19th July 2010

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A VETERAN councillor has failed in a bid to safeguard police community support officers and a youth bus from town hall cutbacks in Burnley.

Coun Andy Tatchell, Burnley’s former Labour leader, had also proposed avoiding a reduction in the budget for the borough’s popular clean team service.

Council chiefs had been forced to consider a raft of budget savings as part of the government’s emergency budget.

Just under £22,000 is set to be slashed from the budget for police community support officers, £40,000 from the clean team’s coffers and £7,400 for the youth Space bus.

Coun Tatchell said reductions could be made from the £100,000 fund to ‘rebrand’ Burnley, and the running costs of Burnley Action Partnership.

He told a full council meeting: “A more sensible and rational approach may have been needed with these reductions.

“I don’t think anyone in this chamber wants to take police community support officers off the streets and it is no one’s best interests to reduce support for the clean team, which everyone agrees does a very good job.”

Coun Howard Baker said that the area already suffered from a poor image, with regards to rubbish, and the clean team was responsible for helping to remedy that.

But council leader Coun Charlie Briggs said that the PCSO funding would not lead to fewer officers on the street.

He added: “The two PCSOs are not there in the first place.

"There are two vacancies which will not be filled that have been there for some time.”

Coun Briggs said the council was close to sealing a deal with a major supermarket for a second youth bus and an announcement was expected soon.

He pledged that the effectiveness of the clean team would not be affected by the proposals.

Another £53,000 will be lost to the Job Match programme and £8,000 for town centre management as part of the £212,000 cutbacks.

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