Where would you LIKE to see cuts made?

slash the government's marketing and advertising budget. I don't need patronising TV commercials telling me to swap junk for fruit and get more active.

CTF, DS's is gathering dust in a bank account somewhere

Ban external consultants from the civil service.

On a slightly different note, though, I would give financial incentives to companies that ran shift work from 09:30 until 14:30 Monday to Friday during school terms

Postpone - doesn't mean we never do these things just not yet.

I think we could reform some benefits so they aren't so open ended.

Do we need to CUT exactly? Couldn't we just freeze? I think we need to postpone a lot of things - like maybe ID cards or the pension age.

Trident.
Make benefits means tested.
Tax the rich!
On a personal front-Grow our own veg and rear chickens!

"Shrink the time taken to obtain university degree - if degrees were studied 9 - 5, Monday to Friday, with 4 weeks annual leave, people would be able to finish their studies in 2 years. Less debt as they wouldn't have to pay for accommodation etc for an extra year or two, and they would hopefully be in the workplace sooner."

I think that is an excellent idea. In Scotland a degree takes 4 yrs and TBh a lot of that time was spent on holiday.

Capital gains tax on sale of property (I think this happens in the US).

Shrink the time taken to obtain university degree - if degrees were studied 9 - 5, Monday to Friday, with 4 weeks annual leave, people would be able to finish their studies in 2 years. Less debt as they wouldn't have to pay for accommodation etc for an extra year or two, and they would hopefully be in the workplace sooner.

All benefits should be means tested.

Agree about Child Trust Funds - I have no idea where this money even went for dd2 and dd3 - I didn't open an account for it.

I'd like to see refreshments at meetings in the public sector being abolished, possibly chairs too. So many people I know say they waste hours of their days in meetings woffling on and having tea-and-biccies. No chairs would speed things up and let them get out and on with their jobs.

I so agree and also stop lunch for half day meetings - load of rubbish that it is needed anyone can bring a flask and a packed lunch for themselfs.

i would like to see public sector jobs capped only from 30k upwards - those underneith are really going to suffer as inflation hits and wages dropped in real terms

I would like to see them make big whopping cuts to my tax bill.

No it doesn't include Doctors. Separate rules always apply for them

Under Agenda for Change, when all positions were reassessed, almost all positions banded at level 8b or above are managerial. There are some exceptions of course.
The majority of clinical posts are 7 and below.

Sorry my mistake, yes the house prices are as they were in 2005, but barely got above that in the north. I correct myself. I'd like them down to the level of 2002. Then we can move.

'See my ex remarried and doesn't bother paying maintenence '

I think people who do this should go to prison.

It's a travesty that people in this country can abandon their children to be supported entirely by the state.

See my ex remarried and doesn't bother paying maintenence but the goverment giving him a tax break on leaving me and the kids and taking a second wife and being patted on the back with extra money would be a step to far.. and that is why I don't agree with tax breaks for a ring of gold and a peice of paper

Greater tax incentives for married couples. Overhaul the amount lone parents get via benefits system. Second income of a married couple just means a huge chunk goes on childcare costs. Meanwhile, lone parents get the government to pay for it - how very nice.

Get absence fathers/mothers to pay for their children. It's not the government's responsiblity to pick up the pieces if an absent parent isn't paying. Free this money up for better education for all kids.

Raise the threshold for inheritance tax.

Get rid of EMA. Use the money to ensure that the OAPs have enough money for food and heating. Young people can go out and get a part-time job whilst studying.

Raise the higher rate tax band from £37,401 to at least £45,000.

Oh, and I totally second scrapping bloody ID cards, and all other intrusive surveillance into our personal lives.

Trident. Pull out of Afghanistan. Personal taxes on wanker bankers' bonuses and the super wealthy (the top 1000 on the rich list have seen their incomes go up 30% in the last year (!!!), when unemployment has soared to 2.5M. That's obscene, and makes me furious).

And 10% cuts across the board in the public sector, NO ring-fencing. As soon as one area of public expenditure is ring-fenced from the pain to come, all other areas will suffer disproportionately.

It's the audit culture in the public sector that really pushes the budget up. Get rid of all the managers who exist just to audit what is going on, and all the expensive red tape that ties front-line workers up. Trust front-line professionals to get on with their jobs, rather than having two back-room (and better-paid) managers per person hanging over them watching what they do.

Given that the worst culprits in respect of the audit culture are the NHS and education, they should NOT be ring-fenced.

Elvis I agree with you about declaring incomes but would just wish to point out that as a family who sell a lot ono ebay via an ebay shop we have been registered since long before we had any opbligation to be: not everyone is playing the system

trident

child trust funds

new initiatives for schools - have none for a couple of years and save millions on printing costs alone

make it impossible to be on jobseekers allowance for too long - make people take jobs if they are able to.

What about GPs as well?

"Over 40K it's all managers?" what? are you referring to consultants as managers?

freezing pay over 30K in the NHS would mean a helluva lot of unhappy 'advanced practitioners' who effectively are worth their weight in gold.

Over 40K it's all managers and you could cull the entire lot as far as I care.

I am left wondering why the politicians haven't been truthful with their expected cuts really, given most people understand or are even in favour of some quite strident cuts.
We aren't stupid, we know harsh times are ahead. Thing is their priorities aren't the same as ours (ID cards, CB, Trident)

What could be done to bring the housing market back down to what it was 5 years ago?

Raise pension age to 70.

Stop child benefit being universal.

Cut back on NHS leaflets and health promotion.

Reverse free prescriptions

Raise tax.