YOUR correspondent Joe Willis wrote a thoughtful and sobering account of how Coalition cutbacks have damaged our region one year on from the comprehensive spending review (Echo, Oct 21).
The harsh impact of these cuts is often invisible, so here are some other statistics.
In the six months from April to September in Central ward, Darlington, 381 residents sought advice over problems with benefits from the town’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau. A further 294 sought advice on debt.
Multiply these figures across other wards, other villages, towns and cities and it is selfevident that the speed and scale of the cuts are hurting many people.
Set the figures against rising unemployment, rising inflation and the stall in economic growth and it is equally self-evident that the cuts are not working.
Perhaps the Chancellor, Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg should drop into their local CAB and get some decent advice on how to handle debt.
Councillor Malcolm Wright, Darlington.
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