Cambridgeshire County Council Cuts - What's your view?

On Thursday, December 9, the County Council released some preliminary information of the spending cuts it is currently planning. The surprising thing was that only on Tuesday, at Full Council, the administration was refusing to release details of the cuts.

A few days earlier the Conservative administration briefed County Councillors (including Labour and Liberal Democrat Councillors) regarding the scope of the cuts. Those attending this briefing were sworn to secrecy regarding the changes - they are still unable to discuss specific areas of the cuts that have not yet been leaked by the administration into the public domain.

The BBC News covered the story here (with an interview with John Reynolds the cabinet member responsible).

One of the features of the current review is that the County Council is asking residents across Cambridgeshire to prioritise the services the County offers (i.e. say which areas should be cut and which should not). 

The survey is available here. One of the options given on the survey is to close 19 libraries across Cambridgeshire, which we believe would almost certainly include some in the city. While we have reservations about the use of such a survey, which will effectively be used by the County Council to "justify" the areas they plan to cut, we would urge those who feel strongly about their library provision to complete the survey and make their views known. If you think closing libraries in the county is a bad idea, let them know!