A major new UNISON Cymru-commissioned report on the future of local government services in Wales reveals how decades of underinvestment in council preventative services have driven up demand for far more expensive emergency interventions in the NHS and criminal justice system, says UNISON today (Wednesday).
Published by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), the report shows how cuts to youth services, libraries, adult day care, community support and other early-intervention provision have weakened communities and left staff struggling to deliver the services people rely on. It concludes that failing to fund preventative work has ultimately cost society far more, with escalating pressure on reactive services across Wales.
The report highlights how thousands of council staff including teaching assistants, care workers, housing officers, librarians and environmental services teams face increasing workloads, reduced resources and pay that has fallen behind comparable roles. It warns that these pressures are undermining the services families and communities depend upon every day.
UNISON says the findings make clear that Wales needs a fundamental shift in how local services are funded. Preventative work such as youth support, early years services, public health programmes and community-based care must be rebuilt if councils are to reduce demand on overstretched emergency services and deliver long-term savings.
Gwawr Eilian, Gwynedd branch secretary, said: ““The council and staff are doing the absolute best we can to deliver services, but we’ve been starved of the right funding for years and suffered rounds of job cuts. We’re so stretched, it feels like we’re fire-fighting trying to cope with the increased need for our local services.”
Jan Davies, chair of UNISON Cymru Local Government Committee, said: “Local government isn’t given the money it needs. After so many years of cuts, and more being made now, it’s not about reigning council services in, it’s about shedding non-statutory services. There is nowhere else to cut.
“Sickness levels are starting to rise, people are leaving and not being replaced. It’s not sustainable. People will break and they are.
“UNISON is determined there is a better way and that’s where this report comes in.”
Darron Dupre, UNISON Cymru head of local government, said: “All the evidence shows investment in council services strengthens communities and means people are happier and healthier. As this UNISON Cymru-commissioned APSE report demonstrates, a failure to adequately fund local government preventative services over decades means society now spends even greater sums, and pushes demand, on reactive services such as the NHS and criminal justice system.
“This report poses fundamental questions for the Welsh government and the parties vying to be the next Welsh government. What do we want local government to deliver and how are we going to fund it?”
