At the end of this month, the Bedroom Tax kicks in, which will mean around 5,000 Salford people with a spare room in their socially rented home having over £12 a week taken from their benefits, or if in work, having to pay it direct.
On top of this, Council Tax Benefit cuts - brought in by the ConDem Government and passed on by Salford City Council - will see 19,000 people in Salford paying up to 15% of their bills for the first time.
At the same time, the replacement of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will see 2,000 disabled people in the city, or 20% of those currently entitled, lose benefits – taking £8million out of the city's economy.
The ongoing Government scheme to kick people off Incapacity Benefit is also affecting around 5,000 people in Salford. This `reform' alone will also take £10.6million out of Salford.
Altogether £31million will be lost to Salford's economy, according to an internal Salford Council report seen by the Salford Star. And the knock-on affect could be the loss of around 1000 jobs. All this, states the report, is "just from the changes to Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support Allowance, Council Tax and Disability Living Allowance".
The real figure could be much higher, if things like the £14 a month rise in rent and service charges for Salix Homes tenants plus Salford Council and NHS redundancies are taken into account.
It's an economic reality that flies in the face of the ConDem Government's current `austerity measures' – meaning the `cure' is actually making the problem worse for cities like Salford.
The Government's answer to the community is to `get a job' but its own latest statistics (November 2012) show that 4.4 people on Job Seekers Allowance are chasing every job vacancy in the city. This compares to a Great Britain average of 3.9 people chasing every job.
In the public sector, a staggering 90,000 people have lost their jobs over the last three years in the North West – this includes people working in councils, the NHS and in education.
With this year's budget looming next week, the ConDem Government has been slated on its economic policy by public sector trade union, UNISON.
"The scale of the ongoing jobs crisis is deeply worrying" says Kevan Nelson, Regional Secretary for UNISON North West "Three long years of cuts - with more to come - and still there are not enough jobs to go around. The Government has got it wrong on the recession and it has sacrificed our recovery. As well as laying waste to our public services, cuts have a stranglehold on the private sector.
"The Government does have a choice" he adds "Use the budget to outline the bold strategy for jobs and growth that we so desperately need in the North West. Make people feel secure in their jobs and they are more likely to spend. Give public sector workers a decent pay rise and more money will flow through tills in local shops and businesses, helping our beleaguered high streets. The most damaging thing the Government could do is to plough on regardless with its reckless anti-growth, no hope, cuts strategy."
With those working in the public sector being financially flattened and facing redundancy, plus those caught in the welfare `reform' trap, and even more skint than before, it all adds up to economic meltdown for Salford...
NO BEDROOM TAX NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST
Saturday 16th March 1pm
Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.
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