to wonder what cuts YOU would make?

[jade80]

I keep reading threads about how a, b or c should not, under any circumstances have their funding cut. So, given that cuts have to be made because of ongoing overspending in recent decades, what would you, personally, choose to take the money away from?

Stop the wars
Military - cut to homeland defence only
Trident
Central and local government/NHS top management numbers and/or salaries
MP's second homes allowance - give them accomodation like nurses get near the houses of parliament if they need somewhere to stay in London.
Corrupt MP's/Councillors/Council staff (how can H&F Homes Chief Exec Nick Johnson be retired from a 203K job as Council Chief in Bexley on a 50k pension for ill health then 4 months later be employed on a 206k salary as Chief Exec for H&F Homes? see here.
Aid to China and other rich countries.

Wow, loads of answers! Interesting ideas, thanks, I've enjoyed reading them.
Serendippy, very perceptive answer, and your comment re. NHS reform in that context is a good point that I did wonder about myself. Looks like we've got a comedian in custardo! :P

Switch off light polluting street lights from the early hours, as well.

would not fund free schools for a start

If the blind person's has someone claiming carers for them than yes i wouldn't let them claim carers for caring for good old mum as clearly if they cant care for themselves they cant care for someone else.

Whoops i have just re read my first post and i didn't make it very clear. I should have put if someone claims carers allowance for caring for you than you shouldn't be ab le to claim for caring for someone else. Not all people who are on dla have someone claiming carers for them so i should have made it clearer.

stop councils changing their websites and paying hugh amounts to do so to outside companies

limit child benefit to 2 children only.
No winter fuel allowance for anyone in the higher tax bracket.

I would look at the massive wasteage in government. I would stop them from carrying out their pointless surveys (a million or something to prove that money doesn't make you happy? )

I'd reduce the management in the nhs - when you have hospitals run like hotels then money is wasted. eg - the vast amounts spent on making the entrances look like hotel lobbies...

I'd turn my attention to the royal family. How many of the hangers on there get public money? slash that for a start!

So much money is spent on pointless things. The people who make decisions have clearly lost their marbles. We should put them in nice little rooms and let them have some 'happy time' doing some colouring or making some baskets while we sort out the mess they've made.

Most of these suggestions wouldn't even scratch the surface of the deficit

Our neighbour lost his leg years ago and so gets mobility allowance, although he is obviously wealthy, large house, two cars less then three years old. So does his wife, not sure what is wrong with her, had a bypass years ago

But byrel wouldn't it be worth following some of the suggestions if it meant that valued services weren't cut?

I'm worried that in my area of work (local government planning) the coalition are tinkering at the edges. What I do has become, over the last 10 years or so, incredibly bureaucratic - ie expensive, slow and tedious.

But it's a bit dull to sort out the existing stuff, so the coalition are proposing to add another layer of plan making where local communities produce their own plan - but only after the council has finished it's own plans (which are already taking waaaaay longer than anyone thought), and only if the council helps to define the community and pays for the community plan and funds the referendums so the community can vote on the plan . none of this is going to save money, the politicians have just found another way to spend money.

and i think that planning is a really small and relatively simple area of government. and if they've not got to grips with planning, then what sort of a mess could they be making of the really complicated expensive stuff like the nhs, social care, managing the economy.....

I've always thought that one government dept in charge of public sector IT projects would save millions and millions in dumbass consultancy costs. High calibre people who know how the civil service/public sector actually works could project manage, outsource and do staged sign-offs so much better than either private secotr consultants (who frequently know how they think the public sector should work, but not how it actually does), or the public sector dept itself, often staffed by well-meaning types or people who have been drafted in totally out of their depth.

Can you tell I've recently been through a total IT upgrade plus reorganisation?

Do away with virtually all means testing (and associated DWP "jobs").
Instead give everyone food/energy/clothes tokens/credits and a very small cash income.

Have a progressive energy tax where low usage is zero-rated and high tax for large usage.

I would cut the disgustingly large salary that Suffolk County Council have seen fit to pay their Chief Andrea Hill here
They want to make all these cuts to our services but pay her so much money!!

Do away with winter fuel allowance and means test it

Stop wastage of funds within local govt and the nhs by restriction restriction of temp contracts.

Stop the closure of local libraries as it will cost far more in local bus transportation ;-)

I would scrap global warming operatives and recycling consultants in sustainability units. I would put them on shovelling snow and gritting roads duties to help the taxpayers during the global freeze.

I would also get them to remove the chips that they put in wheelie bins.

global warming operative ?

Cancel Trident. Would save billions.

Tax mumsnet use. Steeply.

I am not exactly sure what councils call them. I have seen the use of the term "sustainability unit" but can't remember what term they dress the other charlatans up with.

Leave Europe.

Make England a tax haven.

Problems all solved.

You're welcome. :o

scrap trident
scrap sponsorship of the royal family
increase taxes for the v rich and reduce tax loopholes to ensure they actually pay those taxes
not a bad start

I suppose instead of making cuts we could raise money instead.

Get the 10 most annyoing people in the country and put them in stocks and then charge people to throw rotten tomatoes at them.

I'd pay a lot of money to be able to throw stuff at
ronathon ross
tony blair
david cameron
those silly - ndubs? - people
vanessa feltz
richard (of richard and judy)
those really annoying jedward creatures

I'd limit child benefit to two children, and the second child would only entitle you to half of what the first does.

Cancel all foreign aid and leave the EU.

I'd let the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish keep their own taxes, and give them nothing else.

Get rid of winter fuel allowance, or link it to other neccesary benefits.

Take all forms of entertainment out of prisons except for books, pens and paper.

Limit all benefits except tax credits to a certain amount of time, have a cap on HB and CTB.

scrap Trident.

tax mn use.

increase tax on rap or C&W records and gigs.

close about half the prisons and save them only for people who have to be there.

sell the Falkland Islands to the Argentinians ( we really should give them away, but it could be an earner).

End the Civil List.

Have bankers bonuses paid in Luncheon Vouchers only. Or potatoes.