Local council is "good" at coping with cutbacks
Merton Council has come top in London and seventh out of all councils across England in a new report into how local authorities are coping with making cuts.
The report: "Coping with the cuts – can local authorities protect disabled people’s services?" has been published by independent think tank Demos for disability charity Scope.
Rating Merton as "good" at coping with the cuts, the report looks at how councils facing funding cutbacks are providing services for disabled people, young and old, throughout the country.
Merton says that to minimise the impact of savings the council has had to make to its services, it has worked with voluntary and community groups to design and plan how the council delivers services for disabled people, while offering greater value for money.
Leader of Merton Council Councillor Stephen Alambritis said: "I am proud at how we have managed to minimise the impact of the cuts on disabled people of all ages in our borough who depend on our services. We are going through difficult financial times at the moment, and are having to make very hard decisions about where we spend our money.
"We always work to prioritise those who are most vulnerable in the borough. This is an example of how we have thought carefully about where we make savings and how we can make the most of the funding we do receive to benefit both our young people and adults who need to use our services."
September 19, 2011