COUNCILLORS have given a mixed reaction to the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Chancellor George Osborne announced on Wednesday that local authorities across the country will have to reduce their budgets by 7.1% a year.

Clr Robert Light, who leads the opposition Conservatives on Kirklees Council, said yesterday that the cut could have been worse.

“We knew we were going to get hammered because of the disastrous position that the last Labour government got us into,” he said.

“But I think the news for councils is not as bad as we thought.”

The Birstall and Birkenshaw man believes frontline services can be protected, as long as the council is prepared to change the way it works.

He said: “We need to look at the way we deliver services.

“Kirklees has been very reluctant to embrace new ways, other council have been quicker to work with different providers.”

Kirklees is in the middle of a cost-cutting programme which will see its non-school workforce drop from 11,200 to 9,700.

Nationally, the Government expects 490,000 public sector jobs to be lost in the next four years because of the cuts.

But Clr Light believes businesses can make up the difference.

He said: “The private sector has created 300,000 new jobs in the last six months alone. That shows you the capacity is there – but only if we remove the unnecessary regulations on business.”

Clr Kath Pinnock, who leads the opposition Lib Dems on Kirklees, also believes the cuts were not as bad as first feared.

The Cleckheaton woman said: “It wasn’t quite as horrific as a lot of us were anticipating – but it will still be very tough.”

Clr Pinnock believes any government would have to cut spending to cope with the £86bn deficit.

“When you spend more than you take in, you have to do something about it,” she said.

“Whichever party was in power, there would have to be huge reductions in public sector spending.”

Clr Pinnock added that the Conservative / Lib Dem coalition government planned to give councils more power.

She said: “Instead of doing what the masters in Whitehall say, we will do what local people want. That strikes me as a much more effective way of providing local services.”

But Clr Andrew Cooper, head of the four-strong Green group on Kirklees, believes this is the wrong time to cut.

The Newsome man said: “I think we’re going to have another recession because of the Government’s decision.

“There will be half a million jobs lost in the public sector, which means less money in the economy.”

Clr Cooper added: “You can’t cut the council’s budget by so much without having a real impact on services. Kirklees will have to make some really hard choices.

“There are things the council does at the moment – such as running libraries – which I don’t think we’ll be able to do in the future.”

SOCIAL housing funding will be slashed by 60% and new tenants will be hit with higher rents. Some 150,000 new affordable homes will be built in the next four years.

PRESSURE on council housing in Kirklees is on the increase.

According to the Kirklees Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations, demand for social housing is up 10%, with a 20% increase in the number of 16 to 24-year-olds looking for accommodation.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, criticised the deep cut to the housing budget yesterday.

He said: “It is a huge blow to see that housing, one of the most basic needs for every single person in this country, is facing some of the biggest cuts.

“A succession of governments has failed to address our housing crisis and this announcement suggests the coalition has joined them in denying responsibility for an entire generation’s ability to access decent, secure, affordable housing.

“The proposed figure of up to 150,000 affordable homes over four years represent less than a third of what this country urgently requires to bring the housing system from its knees.” Yesterday the Examiner asked Kirklees Council and Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing for a comment on the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review on social housing in the district. Neither organisation produced a statement.

THE University of Huddersfield is facing up to the “biggest change in funding for 50 years”.

Chancellor George Osborne announced on Wednesday that universities’ teaching budgets would be slashed by 40% as part of public spending cuts.

The announcement came a week after the Browne Review into higher education funding was published.

It suggested universities should be allowed to charge up to £12,000 a year in tuition fees, compared with the current limit of £3,290.

University of Huddersfield deputy vice-chancellor Prof Peter Slee believes a hike in fees is necessary if Government spending is cut.

He said yesterday: “The removal of the greater part of state contribution to teaching in universities is a radical change.

“It is only sustainable if the Government accepts and implements the recommendations of the Browne Review, which in turn will force universities to generate additional income by charging higher fees to their students.

“Taken together the public spending reductions and the Browne Review mark potentially the biggest change in the landscape of higher education for 50 years.”

However, Prof Slee added that the impact of the 40% cut in the teaching budget would not be clear until next year.

He said: “The Chancellor’s speech leaves many unanswered questions, including how the funding cuts will be apportioned and how they will affect individual universities.

“We will not have these answers until the spring of 2011.”

Prof Slee believes spending cuts will not affect the quality of teaching.

He said: “The University of Huddersfield will, under any new funding arrangements, continue to provide an excellent professional education for its students and will ensure they get the best possible preparation for a rewarding career in the modern world.”

It is unclear whether the cuts announced on Wednesday will lead to a reduction in the university’s 1,800-strong workforce.

GEORGE Osborne announced that 25% will be cut from the £21.2bn budget of the Department of Business. Administration costs will be slashed by £400m and 24 quangos will be abolished.

A YORKSHIRE business leader gave the Comprehensive Spending Review a warm welcome yesterday.

Regional director of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Andrew Palmer said: “The Chancellor has got the strategic direction of this spending review right. He has stayed the course outlined in the June Budget, with economic growth a top priority.

“We particularly welcome the extra £2bn a year on capital spending, and the focus on areas that support growth. These include transport and other infrastructure, education and science, and the low-carbon economy.

“The spending cuts, though painful, are essential to balance the UK’s books and build its future prosperity.

“Now the Government must deliver its promised savings by re-engineering public services.”

However, Mr Palmer was less happy with the bank levy, which the Government hopes will raise £2.5bn a year.

He said: “We will wait to see the legislation on taxing banks, but the Chancellor has recognised two crucial points.

“He said he did not want to drive banks abroad, and he recognised that hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK depend on our competitiveness in financial services.”

THE Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s budget will be cut by 25% in the next four years. However, free admission to museums and galleries will remain.

THE National Coal Mining Museum near Flockton is facing a 15% cut in grant – around £100,000 a year – for the next four years.

Museum director Dr Margaret Faull said yesterday: “The cut in the allocation to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was 25%, so we are relieved that the cut in our grant was confined to 15%.

“We are extremely grateful to all the people who have campaigned so vigorously on our behalf.”

The museum’s board of trustees will meet on December 17 to decide how to cope with the cuts.

Dr Faull said: “The board will need to make some tough decisions, but we are confident that a visit to the museum will still be a worthwhile and enjoyable experience for the 120,000 people who visit each year.”

Colne Valley Conservative MP Jason McCartney was part of a delegation of Yorkshire MPs who met culture minister Ed Vaizey on Tuesday to push the museum’s case.

Yesterday he said: “I was very pleased that the minister listened to our case for protecting the museum from a large cut in funding.

“The National Coal Mining Museum provides a unique opportunity for visitors of all ages to experience what it’s like to be miner. The museum plays a significant part in Yorkshire’s social and cultural heritage.”

SPENDING on the Police will be cut by 4% a year. The Government claims there will be no drop in patrols, but some experts believe 18,000 police jobs could go nationally.

WEST Yorkshire Police Authority warned yesterday there could be redundancies following the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Chairman Clr Mark Burns-Williamson said: “The real details of how this will cut will affect us will not be known until December.

“However, the front-loading of cuts of 13% into 2011/12 and 2012/13 is a surprise and raises real concerns.

“A big reduction in the capital grant of around 50% is also something of a surprise.

“The police authority and the force have already had discussions about restructuring back room services while retaining neighbourhood policing and other frontline services as far as possible.

“The funding arrangements for PCSOs have also yet to made clear.

“While we don’t have the full picture of the budget cuts yet, we anticipate that staffing levels will be impacted upon.”

Clr Burns-Williamson added: “The authority will be working with the chief constable to ensure the focus remains on delivery of frontline policing services and working smarter to maximise performance in what will be challenging times ahead.”