Fighting to Open up the Books

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be implemented.

2) The actions of Labour councils in response to the massive opposition to the cuts in local government spending.

These two factors are obviously connected and this has been shown in the battle against cuts in Haringey.

The Labour council there had voted to cut £2½ million off this year's budget (i.e, to be cut before April 1980), which involved attacks on every council sector, education and social services.

The social service cuts were to involve massive WHEN IT LOOKS LIK THERE'S NO WAY OUT Get the swers in policies to defend jobs, Yes and social service to Socialist RATES:

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Address Send to Socialist Press, 31, Dartmouth Park 801, London NWS 11 and have called a lobby of Parliament on November 7 (although there is a possibility that this date may be altered to coincide with a Yorkshire lobby on November 21). This lobby and strike action to back it should become an important focus of the cuts struggle.

Strike action such as the one-day stoppage by council workers in Hackney, and march by 1,000 against the closure of St. Leonards must be centralised and linked for an all-London fight against the cuts.

For more details about the cuts nationally and the fight back being waged by workers up and down the country read the Socialist Press supplement, Fighting the Cuts' price 15p (including postage) from WSL, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NWS 1HR.

A trade union inquiry was set up in April 1979 from four trade union bodies in Oxfordshire to examine what are the real needs of the elderly and how far they are or are not being met by the present services. provided.

The workers will investigate every aspect of care from health through to housing and the social services. It is crucially an independent workers' body. It does not start from the bias of considering cash limits-"what we can afford" or by being controlled by management, local authority or Area Health Authority, producing ultimately what they want to hear.

The workers inquiry starts from investigating the facts and figures on what is necessary to establish an adequate system of state geriatric care for the elderly members of the working class.

Under capitalism the level of care is totally inadequate, and even the skeleton services provided are threatened with destruction by public spending cuts.

The members of the inquiry mainly work in services for the elderly, doctors, homehelps, health visitors, social workers, ambulancemen and through their experience have knowledge and information of what is necessary.

The Geriatric Inquiry has just produced its first report on Cowley Road-this will provide crucial information to arm the struggle to defend the NHS.

The Geriatric Inquiry was set up on the initiative of the Longworth Hospital Support Committee. On the question of Cowley Road it has received so far, the existing knowledge of health service trade unionists, geriatricians, patients, relatives, the Community Health Council and statements from over 100 workers at Cowley Road Contrast with this the government's appointment during the past months of a one-man ten-day "independent" inquiry set up by the Minister of Health in order to give the illusion that a fair hearing has been given before the axe falls.

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