Who should pay?

Posted By: Wera Hobhouse
Date Posted: 09/04/2010

 The debate over the increase in National Insurance rate has been dominating the news this week.
Labour says it needs to go up to bring in about £7billion pounds to tackle the huge public debt. The Tories say it is a tax on private companies and jobs and will put the recovery at risk. They say they have identified £6 billion of waste in the Public Sectors that, if saved, would allow them to keep National Insurance rates at the current level.

Today Sir Peter Gershon has been brought out by the Tories to back up their claims. He used to advise the Government on efficiency savings now he advises the Tories.

So called ‘Gershon Savings’ have been with people involved with public service delivery- which of course includes local councils- for many years.
Every year when we discussed the council budget we had to find so many millions in savings as suggested through the Gershon report.

Of course councils and other public bodies shouldn’t waste tax payers’ money. However over the last years, at least since I have been a councillor, most councils have already become very lean. Indeed the regular audits, that councils undergo, don’t allow any authority to waste money without severe penalties.
When it became clear over the last 18 months that the economic downturn would mean that in the future there would be a lot less money available for our council than we currently spend, we have embarked (on top of the regular Gershon Savings) on a huge programme of efficiencies; a lot of these are still being discussed and haven’t even started to be implemented.

So where on earth councils can find even more savings after years of pretty tough controls over public spending and some painful new efficiencies that we just started to discuss- think closure of Adult care Units- is beyond me, except if the public accepts that they will receive fewer services from councils.
To me the current discussion between Labour and Tories is pretty obvious on some old ideological lines:
Should the government be on the side of the Private Sector or on the side of the Public Sector? The folly of private banks that pushed us all to the brink of a financial melt-down doesn’t inspire me to put all my money on the Private Sector.
However the questions remains which sector can guaranty long term the future of our prosperity and our way of live.

Of course we need the Private Sector to provide jobs, innovation and competition and it would be madness to create an environment that makes it impossible for private business to thrive.
I so isn’t the simple answer that we need both? And if we need both, the financial burden of getting us back on our feet and pay for the huge public debts, have to be shouldered by all.
It would help if Labour and the Tories would stop polarising the debate and look at solutions that are fair to all.
Lets start to think of how everybody can make a contribution rather than just screaming; ‘not me’!