Public Services in Crisis

Conference our public services are in crisis. The basic economic reason for this, if we look at spending alone makes clear the reason why. In terms of day to day spending since 2010 we have endured an 8% reduction in spending. While the consequences of this are clear to our members, their families and the wider society in which they live, we must refuse to focus on solutions to the crisis at a regional level. This would ignore that the key driver for this crisis is a failed and failing right wing austerity agenda that set, at a UK level, its corporate sponsored ambition to shrink the state and attack the concept of publicly funded, free at the point of use public services. If those in charge of this agenda are admirers of the Thatcherite creed of “there is no such a thing as society” – how can they be expected to truly support the public services that provide the very spine of that society?

It is our duty therefore to oppose such ideologues in the Treasury and their echo chambers within the senior echelons of the NI Civil Service/NIO. Conference notes the overview of financial crisis that such officials produced as budget proposals at the beginning of this year. These detailed how Departments and Agencies across the public sector that are already struggling are expected to passively accept further cuts. Simultaneously, even to stand still in financial terms we, as a society are expected to accept new service charges – to pay for our healthcare, our water etc.

In response this conference offers our movement a chance to re-iterate – “enough is enough” and offer the ideological and industrial opposition to the assault being made upon us.

The crisis within our public services deepened further with the collapse of Carillion where public service contracts and the workers’ jobs are in jeopardy, yet the bosses appear to have stripped the Company bare. In addition there are significant concerns about the recent profit warnings of Capita and what impact this may have if it collapses.

Conference therefore calls on the incoming Executive to:

• Outline a real budget solution for the Northern Ireland Assembly to operate – one that begins with rejecting real terms cuts and examines what a “peace dividend” for a post-conflict society should look like. Such a budget would also ensure that the assessment of equality impact would not be a tokenistic add-on but a genuine part of establishing what our society requires.
• This analysis would lead us to re-affirm the necessity of real social security “from the cradle to grave” and establish the collective support of society for each phase of our life – from nursery provision to residential care in old age. This would also offer the framework within which the safety nets of properly resourced public health and housing would be built.
• Organise collective opposition to the continuing attempts to impose an austerity agenda on the Northern economy.
• Directly expose the propping up of the Tory government within a confidence and supply arrangement by the DUP; and
• Halt the future privatisation of public service contracts.