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I am deeply concerned about Salford’s budget situation and the likely job losses and cuts to services that could be decided upon by the council. I’m particularly concerned by the approach of the Chief Executive in sending out an email to staff offering limited support in respect of fighting to keep their jobs and the provision of services for the most vulnerable in the city.

What Council employees and communities do not need are large –scale redundancies and severe erosion of vital services. Not only would such decision deal a hefty blow to the provision of care and amenities to the most vulnerable in our city but also the loss of jobs would have a massive impact on the local economy and would have a knock-on effect as shops and other local businesses would suffer.

I write to you as I believe that all local councillors have much to do in these times in respect of speaking up for the communities and council employees who will be hardest hit by these cuts. I request that you publicly air your dissatisfaction with the Government for forcing financial savings by cuts which could have been found by other means. In particular A Robin Hood Tax on city speculation which could raise £ 20-30 Billion a year, £5 Billion could be raised every year with an Empty property Tax. £ 76 Billion could be saved by scrapping Trident over 40 years , £14.9 Billion a year could be raised by using minimum tax rates to stop relief’s being used to disproportionately subsidise incomes over £100,000.

Lastly a crack-down on the off-shore savings that avoid tax which amounts to £ 10 Billion and many other measures as outlined by the TUC and UNISON on their web sites.

Instead of this ConDem Government are as said by the Institute For Fiscal Studies to be hurting the poorest most and letting the richest members of society off lightly in comparison, creating an economic situation that could plunge us back into a long and difficult recession.

I urge you to speak up for your constituency and those in it that are soon to fighting economic misery and to condemn any compulsory redundancies and fight for the alternative economic strategy that can make the necessary savings without the unnecessary misery to Salfordian’s. We in Salford should be ruling out this course of action and rule in what we can do to protect services and protect staff, many of whom have given decades of service to the city

Yours truly,