Another packed week in Cutsville UK

[Some links deleted due to spambot]
First up, the one I forgot last week. South West Tourism, the regional tourist board funded by the South West Regional Development Agency is being axed on 31 March 2011. The number of job losses is not yet clear.
http://www.bristol247.com/2010/09/14/who-will-promote-b...-now/

Unison seem to be reading this even if noone else is. On Wednesday they started making a fuss about the 25% cut in planning officers proposed by Bristol City Council (pictured) we reported last week.

Also continued from last week ... Word arrives that 16 of the 20 staff made redundant at a Bristol Connexions office were part-time working mums. If that's not sex discrimination what is?

Apparently one plan circulating around the Environment Agency, due to move 1,000 staff intoan upmarket, designer new HQ at Cabot House, College Green, Bristol imminently, is a proposal that they only meet their statutory duties in the future and ditch the rest of their work. The number of redundancies this entails is unclear but could easily reach 30% plus. Will they be needing a new expensive state-of-the-art HQ for 1,000 staff?

A director at Bath and North East Somerset Council who has been paid £1.2m over the past five years has received a pay increase of £22,000 per year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-11376533

Bristol City Council are moving to cut redundancy payments for their staff at the end of this month as they start making 1,000 of their staff redundant over the next year or so. They are also cutting pay protection for any staff who get redeployed.

Yet another senior management reorganisation is in the offing at Bristol City Council barely two years after the last effort to "streamline management", which resulted in an extra 22 senior managerial posts being in place by October of last year. The latest management wheeze is contained in a report presented by the Chief Executive to the council's Human Resources committee today in which any new senior management grades and salaries are conveniently omitted as they have not yet been received from the "external job evaluation consultant".

A Freedom of Information request reveals more evidence of senior management featherbedding at Bristol City Council. It seems the former 'Strategic Leader' Neighbourhoods, Graham Sim, was handed a pay rise last month and promoted to Deputy Chief Executive on the basis of an informal chat with his friend and colleague, the Chief Executive. Sim is now responsible for communications and marketing at the council, disciplines in which he has no apparent skills, qualifications or experience. Not that he needed to meet criteria from a person specification like any other job applicant at Bristol City Council has to.
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/deputy_chief_exec...14074

While Bristol City Council managers sort out their improved personal remuneration packages and luxury homes, those relying on them for vital income and services are being ignored and abandoned. Time2share, a charity working with children with disabilities and their families, has had to send a desperate letter to the Evening Post in an effort to get the council to listen. "Organisations and the families they support will need clear information from councils about what services and funding are at risk to enable us to plan for an uncertain future," they say. At present they're not getting this as Bristol City Council makes plans in secret instead.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Cuts-affect/article....html

One way for council's to raise funds in the age of austerity is to come over all green and raise parking charges. Bristol City Council are doing exactly this and increasing on-street parking and car parking charges by anything between 10% and 66%. Of course, the majority of people targeted by these rises have either stagnant or decreased wages to look forward to.

People find public services are worse if you cut them reports the BBC. A survey by Bristol Older People's Forum found four out of five people in sheltered accommodation said the service had worsened since Bristol city council cut residential wardens two years ago.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-11385728

And also according to the BBC, Bristol City Council has spent £700k on their effort to host matches at the 2018 World Cup. This seems a low estimate of costs as it includes only £13k in wages - enough to pay a very lowly admin assistant for a year. Are all the other staff involved working for free in their spare time?

Bristol City, Bath & North-East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils have scrapped plans for nearly 38,000 homes that will cost these areas around £340 million in government incentives at a time when budgets are being brutally cut and funding restricted.

Thousands might be losing their jobs but Bristol City Council still managed to find £10,400 to put towards a total budget of £36,500 for an 'artwork' to celebrate the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion! The artwork consists of 50 tents stuck on College Green for the week and culminated today with Stephen Williams MP discussing community cohesion over lunch. That's the poverty box ticked then.

Being made redundant? Problems at work? Boss acting the twat? Contact Bristol IWW, the union where you do it so it gets done. bristoliww@riseup.net or Tel: 07506 592180

Got any news about cuts in Bristol, Bath or beyond? Send your stories, gossip and informed speculation to Cutz, the brashest and best cuts news in the west: bristol_citizens@yahoo.co.uk