[Newham Council on 17 July received a report…]

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Newham Council on 17 July received a report from its Chief Executive and its Director of Finance on the question of cuts in this year's Rate Support Grant.

The latest Department of Employment Circular (no. 21/79) in four short paragraphs fires the first fusilade against local authorities. It repeats the Chancellor's budget threat to lack tsuu milion ott this years RSG and calls for local author¡ties to cut their own current expenditure by 3%. It also asks local authorities to freeze recruitment and look for possibilities of cutting staff further.

The report to Newham counciliors recommended that the freeze be put into effect and that no new projects be approved, To their credit the counciliors declined to accept these recommendations, but did not agree to reject them finally.

They also shelved discussion on a resolution submitted by Councillors Ken Palmer and John Plant which reads as follows:

"This Council resolves: a) to reject any government instruction designed to prevent the recruitment of new staff or the filling of vacancies, and to declare its intention to maintain its workforce at a level appropriate to its programmes. b) to state publicly its refusal to implement government imposed cuts in services, programmes or manpower levels. c) to call an open conference to prepare a Borough campaign against the cuts. d) to state its view that reductions in finance imposed by government should be met by reductions in interest payments by the Borough."

It is intended that this resolution should appear at the next Council meeting, in October. Socialist Press readers should propose resolutions on these general lines in the Labour Party ward meetings, and in trade union branches for reference to GMCs and trades councils. Individual councillors should also present resolutions at the earliest opportunity.

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lolds of cuts