Mayor has no more excuses

Adult social care has frontline staffing cuts of £645,000 but the care trust claims it won't involve job cuts. It will make fascinating reading to see how it manages that.

Cuts of £25,000 to community alarms is dreadful. The alternative is to charge 900 vulnerable people up to £200 a year for the emergency contact service. The mayor should bin this idea - it is outrageous.

Children's services takes its annual downsizing in funds to £1.3m. Vulnerable children will have fewer staff to deal with real concerns and spot those at risk from abuse.

Cuts to street wardens will limit the ability to curb anti-social behaviour and cuts to beach services will threaten Torbay's blue flag beaches, which is bonkers for an area that wants to attract tourists.

It's frightening to consider the effects of £10m cuts to council, NHS, fire, police and coastguard services in our area. Yet we have an unwanted elected mayor position which wastes £100,000 per year with its salary, plus the deputy mayor role.

We also have a mayor who blames the last Labour government, the previous mayor but not the coalition government at all. If he can't stand up to them over cuts he should find another job.

Paul Raybould

GMB Branch Secretary

Torquay