Cost Cutting At Its Finest: UK Public Policy

Cost Cutting At Its Finest: UK Public Policy

Viewpoint by Hootan Sherafat, WCW Columnist

As the summer heat pushes the mercury up to uncomfortable levels once again, sipping on my ice-cold Frappuccino outside Starbucks in Moorgate in the heart of the City, I can’t help but think that the extreme weather is not the only frustration that we - here in the UK - have to contend with.

Last week, a close friend managed to foil a fourth attempt by thieves who were determined to steal his prized motorbike. Whilst watching England take a thrashing by arch rivals Germany, somewhere outside the pub, a group of youths were working hard on achieving their own goal; breaking the pad-lock and pushing the bike around the block where it could be loaded onto a pick-up truck and driven away. Unfortunately for the would-be thieves, England’s woeful performance on the pitch ended after 90 minutes and with no cause to celebrate, patrons left the pub with the ever-familiar feeling of disappointment that follows an England match. The bike was located less than a block away, no doubt awaiting the pick-up truck.

As the spectre of public sector cuts by the coalition government gains momentum, the enormity of the situation begins to dawn. These cuts are going to come down hard and fast and, Yes, it will hurt. Less expenditure on public spending means, amongst other things, fewer police officers on the beat. This means crime will rise like the mercury in the thermometer. Now, any self respecting politician will almost certainly try to convince the masses that the public sector cuts will come from back office and support functions of the police force instead of front-line staff but then again, any self respecting person would probably take any such assurances with a pretty big pinch of salt.

“Every Little Helps”, or so they say.

This week hospital bosses advertised for an adviser to help them decide which jobs to axe to save money. Apparently, the NHS is so strapped for cash that they are offering to pay this individual Ł1,000 a day for their “turnaround” services – that’s Ł40K more than the Chief Executive of the NHS and twice as much as the Prime Minister!

Cost-cutting at its finest!

So just when you thought having fewer police officers on the beat doesn’t really matter, you now have to think about what it will be like to have fewer doctors and nurses in the hospitals. Public spending cuts are an inconvenient necessity but I sure hope they don’t get their numbers wrong; we certainly can’t afford to throw out the baby with the bath water.

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