The Public Bubble recently hosted a Policy Café on the impact of austerity on the Public Sector, at Whitehall’s ‘Silver Cross’ (Thursday, 26th April 2018).
There was a great turnout at the event, with attendees coming from a variety of backgrounds, including the Civil Service and Fast Stream, the NGDP, a number of Local Authorities (London and south-east), and other Public-Sector groups.
The topic of April’s Policy Café came after an announcement from the Government that deficit reduction targets had been met, following eight years of austerity programmes which have had a significant influence across the whole of the Public Sector. Following the effective ‘World Café’ format, groups reflected and debated over the influence of austerity across the following areas:
· Health and Social Care: including financial challenges and overspending in the NHS, subsequent reductions in services and patient care, rationing decisions and staffing losses.
· Police and Safety: the transformation of ‘traditional’ policing over the last decade as a result of the rise of cyber-crime and terrorism, and the wider effects of central funding cuts to the police service in England and Wales.
· Local Government: cuts to local government funding over the last decade, the increasing demand for council services, and council plans to increase council tax and the implications of this action.
· Welfare Reform: changes to policies to reduce welfare spending, including Universal Credit (UC), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and the effect that this has had on wider social attitudes and mental health.
It was extremely interesting to hear everybody’s thoughts and opinions on each area, and many people stayed on to carry on the conversation over drinks after the event – a huge thank you to everybody that came!
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Victoria
The Public Bubble 