Budget 'Fails To Address' Key Local Challenges
Murad Qureshi AM says families are now worse off
Labour London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi has said that Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget fails people in Hounslow because it does little to help struggling families who are now worse off.
With working families an average of £1,600 a year worse off under the current government Mr Qureshi said the plans set out in the Budget would do little to help and would put vital public services like the NHS at risk.
Murad Qureshi AM welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement that London would receive more money for housing and regeneration schemes, but said other plans outlined in the Budget would mean even deeper cuts to vital public services.
He described as ‘perplexing’ that George Osborne’s speech failed to address the key challenges facing ordinary Londoners, including the significant shortage of schools places, the £800m of additional cuts facing the Metropolitan police and the capital’s NHS crisis with record delays for A&E services and unprecedented ambulance waiting times.
Murad said:“Whilst I welcome some of the announcements in the Budget, such as the new investment in housing, the Chancellor cannot hide the fact that after five years of this Government, many families in Hounslow are worse off and our public services and NHS are creaking.
“London has a schools place crisis, our police force faces £800m more in cuts and our NHS is on its knees. It’s perplexing that George Osborne failed to mention any of this in his speech.
“The fact the Chancellor has missed his targets to reduce the deficit, means Londoners have years of austerity to come. He wants us to think he’s done a magnificent job, but in reality this Budget devastatingly fails people in Hounslow who are struggling to cope with the cost of living.”
- It is estimated that the capital needs 133,000 additional school places by 2018 in order to accommodate growing pupil numbers.
- 2014 saw the London Ambulance Service miss the national ambulance response target of reaching patients within 8 minutes 75% of the time.
- In 2014, approximately 200,000 patients waited for over four hours in London A&Es before receiving treatment.
- The Met Police are expected to make an additional £800m savings by 2020.
- Hounslow has lost 13 uniformed officers since 2010.
- Murad Qureshi AM is a Londonwide Assembly Member
March 24, 2015
