Leamington Green councillor part of delegation at Downing Street to lobby Conservatives against local government cuts

Ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announcement next Wednesday, the Green Party has called for an end to the what it has described as the government’s “ideologically-driven” austerity programme.

Cllr Chilvers who represents the Leamington Brunswick ward for Warwickshire County Council) said: “Proposed cuts to local council grants from central government will devastate local services which we all rely on in Warwickshire.

“Fifty per cent cuts to support for people who are homeless or with poor mental health will leave more families in crisis”

“Children centres opening hours have already been slashed with future closures looking inevitable. And that’s not to mention deep cuts to libraries, museums, waste disposal services, and more.

“There are other ways to deal with the deficit than wantonly dismantling essential services, and the government must pull back from the brink.”

The party presented a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to use the CSR to ensure that local government services are protected from further damaging cuts, by plugging the core funding gap of £9.5 billion that the Local Government Association says councils are facing between now and 2020.

The letter said: “Without such action, there is a real danger not just to cherished community services, but also to essential frontline services such as support for users of adult social care, older people, disabled people, and low-income families in crisis.”