A 'Roller Coaster Ride' for Local Government in the next five years has been independently forecast if we have a Tory government.

Alarming prospects for people's local valued public services which have already been on a downward funding spiral since 2010.

A 40% cut in budget sustained by the council coffers would have seen many a local business fold.

Even the supposedly protected education budget is under threat from the Tories.

Not widely known, but over the last few years the money for schools paid directly to them from government has had no inflationary money added to it as was always the norm before.

In fact the much heralded Pupil Premium for schools could be described as recycled inflationary funds that schools would have received any way. All rather disingenuous!

However this year a black hole of £4m due to a government cut has developed in direct school funding as the Pupil Premium has failed to even keep up with inflation costs.

An average primary school will already lose this year between £20-30k and a secondary school will lose between £120-130k.

Those secondaries not seeing the rise in pupil numbers could lose £300k.

Schools will have to fund rises in their fuel costs and teachers pay rises for example from within their existing budgets. A tough ask.

The Capital money schools receive for upgrading and maintaining their premises has been cut to a fifth each year since 2010 and as a local authority we are not allowed to build any brand new schools only the rare replacement.

The council secondary school new build programme was stopped by this government in 2010.

Only if you became an Academy were you allowed new premises.

Immediately in 2010 the Coalition Government cut the new school for Westhoughton High School. Feels all rather petty, punitive, and short sighted.

Added to all this, when we look at government cuts of £7m imposed on our the council's Children's Early Intervention Grant, the government funding cut for Children's Centres and now the possible Tory freeze on Child Benefit you have to ask the question, why is there this sustained underhanded little known attack on services and support for our children, the next generation, by the Conservatives?

Cllr Linda Thomas

Deputy Leader Bolton Council