Combating Austerity

Signposting the ways Scotland could limit the damage

Mike Kirby Combating Austerity Feb 2016The Conservative Government’s austerity programme will result in around a further £2 billion of cuts to Scotland’s public services.

There is a broad consensus across Scotland that austerity is damaging to public services and the economy.

UNISON Scotland is part of the campaign against austerity.

UNISON Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby on
Combating Austerity Feb 2016

 

Combating Austerity implementation report

Combating Austerity Implementation

Councils and health boards could do much better. A UNISON Scotland Report July 2017.

New figures from councils and health boards demonstrate the importance of its proposed measures designed to help protect services and jobs as further austerity cuts bite.

UNISON Scotland’s Combating Austerity Implementation Report forecasts in the report that a minimum of £250m could be saved over ten years, with billions more pounds of potential savings if the Scottish Government properly tackles the financial scandal of PPP/PFI. Each pound saved contributes to protecting vital public services and the jobs needed to deliver them.

Newly elected councils will be asked to take on the proposals, as appropriate to local circumstances.

Health boards will also be asked to examine relevant ways to save and raise money, with the potential for them borrowing from councils to buy out PPP/PFI contracts, as has happened in England.

Combating Austerity report and toolkit

thumbnail of CombatingAusterity_Sep2015As part of combating austerity we should look at practical ways in which the Scottish Government, councils, health boards and other public bodies can mitigate against the worst of the cuts to come. Every sensible mitigation measure government and public authorities can take reduces the number of job losses and damage to vital public services and the economy.

Our Combating Austerity paper offers signposts to measures that would help combat austerity including:

  • Contract buyouts and/or refinancing of expensive PPP/PFI projects;
  • Refinancing of council and other public bodies debt;
  • Imaginative use of council prudential borrowing and bonds;
  • Join us in combating austerity by campaigning for these measures and limiting the damage

thumbnail of CombatingAusterityToolkit_Feb2016Combating Austerity Toolkit – Feb 2016

Use the Combat Austerity Toolkit resources to help your branch campaign to limit the damage to public services.

See also our Public Works Toolkit for campaigning against cuts

Briefings

Selected briefings from Bargaining and Campaigns Team – see more on Briefings page