The reality of cuts in Barnet

Looking through Barnet Council's disclosure log I came across a very interesting response. Someone had asked how many school crossing patrol officers were employed by the Council and the response showed the following:

• In 2011/12 the council employed 14 School Crossing Patrol Officers.
• The council currently (2012/13) employs one School Crossing Patrol Officer.

I took an interest in this because I blogged about it in 2011. The issue was that the actual crossing patrol salaries were £41,503 but the central overhead charges for Management, HR, IT etc were £115,497.

So the cuts promised were enacted and all but one of the staff have gone. However, I wonder how much of the original management and overhead costs were actually saved rather than the modest salaries.  When you look how much money has been wasted by the council on consultants it still seems ridiculous that the safety of our children is put at risk to save £41,503. 

 This a very simple example of how a crude and ill thought through strategy of cuts is hitting Barnet residents; expect an awful lot more.