“I can’t even ask my children if I want a loaf,” Val Barlow says as she looks into the distance. “My son asks me if I need anything but I know he’s got family. He’s working and he’s seeing nowt of it. I’m struggling like everybody else but you’ve got to go on.”
Val isn’t the only one finding things tough at the moment. Her struggles come just as council tax bills are set to rise across Greater Manchester.
“It’s disgusting,” the 61-year-old told the Manchester Evening News. “[Bills] have already gone up before your benefits have gone up so you won’t see the difference.
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“It’s like the price of food as well – that's going up. But they know deep down that if you’re used to something, you’re still going to buy it.
“You’ve got to eat and keep yourself warm. I put the heating on when I’m really cold.
“I’ve cut back on certain stuff, but you’ve still got to buy daily stuff like bread and milk and cleaning stuff. But I'll shop about now – if I can get it 20p cheaper, I will go that bit extra for it."
All Greater Manchester households will pay up to £40 a year more in council tax for the parts of the bill which go towards the police and the fire service.
Meanwhile, councils are increasing taxes on a local level. In Tameside, where we spoke to Val, the executive cabinet has agreed to raise council tax from April by the maximum available, 4.99 pc. This includes two per cent which is specifically to be used to fund adult social care in the borough.
For a Band A property, the most common type in Tameside, the local bill is expected to rise by £54.96 a year, not including the region-wide hike in precepts.
At the same time, the local authority is also preparing to make £15.776m in cuts and savings from its budget in 2023/24.
“It soon adds up,” Val says when asked about rising costs. “You go into the shop and it’s one price one minute then you go in again and it’s gone up.
“My mum always says you’re lucky if you’ve got a roof over your head and all that lot, but I think of these older ones who haven’t got anyone who can help them out.
“I think nowadays, they shouldn’t have to choose between heating or eating. You should be able to do both.”
The biggest council savings in Tameside will come from the corporate directorate, followed by children’s services, adults services and the ‘place’ department.
As part of the cuts, the council is to stop providing free caddy liners for compostable waste in brown bins. This would save £108k in the next financial year, and £22k the year after.
The cost of running streetlights will also be cut by £108k in the coming year by reducing their brightness, resulting in less energy consumption. All budget and council tax increases were passed at a council meeting on Tuesday (February 28).
The scenario in Tameside is not unique. But in Droylsden, where the M.E.N spoke to people out and about, there was extra frustration because of the feeling that local regeneration wasn't progressing quickly enough in the face of rises. Tameside Council say they remain 'committed to improving all our town centres', and provided a statement to the M.E.N detailing the progress they have made.
“Look at the state of Droylsden,” Arthur Dormer told the M.E.N as he walked through Droylsden Shopping Centre. “All the shops are empty; the council tax doesn’t do anything.”
The 71-year-old has had to make huge cutbacks recently just to keep his head above water. “We’ve had to get rid of the car to cover our gas bills,” he added. “We’ve just had to cut down. It’s horrendous.
“I’ll have to start going on the tram and walk around Marks and Spencer’s and Sainsbury’s to keep warm and keep moving. They’re just going to take whatever you’ve got.”
“We struggle with money, but we’re not moaning about it. We just have to plug it in and go with it. You can’t let it get to you.
“My brother-in-law is 86 and he’s just had a bill for £400. He lives on his own, so he’s not cooking a dozen meals a day. Our bills have gone up by £80 in just two weeks.”
Jack Hack, 39, and Julian Rossiter, 29, have lived in Tameside for around six years. The pair say there’s so much of the borough that could benefit from the cash – but many units remain empty.
“I think it seems like they’ll always put it up the maximum without actually giving any value back to the community,” Jack said.
“We’ve lived in Tameside for six years now, first in Ashton and now in Droylsden, and there are so many parts of it that could really benefit from some actual investment from the council but it’s just sitting there empty or neglected.”
The pair claim they’ve also had trouble accessing recycling while living in the borough. “One of the things that has always bothered us if for some reason we’ve never lived in a place that offers recycling and I don’t really know why,” Julian said.
“The place we live in now has no recycling and the place we lived in in Ashton had no recycling and that’s a thing you would expect all the time.
“And yet it seems wherever we live in Tameside, there’s no recycling. That’s just one minor thing, but it’s one of the few things that makes us feel like we don’t know where our council tax money is going.”
When asked about how they’re coping with the ongoing cost of living crisis, Julian added: “We’re doing OK. We’re lucky because we live in a flat so it’s warmer than a house. We don’t have to put the heating on unless it’s absolutely freezing, but we’ve been living under heated blankets ever since the energy crisis.
“It’s one of those things where we’re not well off, we’re firmly working class I would say. And we weren’t doing well before, but now we’re definitely not doing well.
“We’re not struggling like some people are and I’m very privileged to be that way, but it does make it feel a bit like we’ve got to keep swimming. We’ve got to keep moving.”
Hollie Morgan, 31, works for NHS. Though she’s managing with bills at the moment, she's frustrated with the fact wages aren't keeping pace.
“It’s rubbish. The cost of living is going up then obviously you’ve got bills,” she said.
“It’s manageable but it’s a noticeable difference each month. I just think it’s bad that the price of everything is going up but wages aren’t.”
Maria Roberts, 72, lives in Hollingworth. She’s recently widowed and still adjusting to life on her own – fearing she may not be able to cope if prices continue to rise.
“I think if it’s government cuts, and I suspect it will be, that’s why they’re making cuts in spending, which is sad and disastrous in a lot of ways,” she said,
“But because of that, I guess they have no option but to get revenue from elsewhere. So one of the ways to get revenue is to put council tax up, which impacts on people already struggling and gets services cut. It’s a catch 22. In a lot of ways, it’s out of control.
“My husband died in July, so I’m just adjusting to living on my own. I have reduced shopping bills, but because utility bills have gone up, obviously that does have an impact.
“I’m just trying to get my head around everything. It’s not like I’m a single parent with three kids, it’s a different ball game. It’s still difficult – rising costs aren’t easy.
“But if you have a few kids and you’re having to make ends meet and make decisions at the margin of whether to eat or heat, then it’s disastrous.
“I just take it as it comes and adjust as I can, personally. But for other people who may have thought about it more, then obviously it’s a worry and has a big impact on mental health issues.”
A spokesman for Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council said: “Government support funding has significantly decreased against current inflation levels, which are at a 40 year high. In setting the budget, the Council has to deal with almost £40 million of additional economic and service pressures in 2023/24.
“The only way to plug the gap in funding is to raise council tax and look at yet more innovative ways to deliver services for less, set against rising inflation.
“Savings of more than £180 million have already been achieved through efficiencies and cut backs since 2010 and the council aims to achieve a further £20 million of budget reductions and efficiencies in 2023/24 whilst at the same time still protecting and delivering critical front-line services.
The Council has a legal requirement to set a balanced budget for 2023/2024 and set a Council Tax. The total amount the council spends annually – including money handed directly to schools – is over £600 million.
“While this is a significant amount of money, in real terms and accounting for inflation, this is significantly lower than in previous years and it has been estimated that the Council’s spending power has been reduced by some 24% since 2010/2011.
“For a number of years we have been investing in Droylsden alongside our other town centres in line with our Inclusive Growth Strategy aims and objectives to regenerate and improve the borough.”
“(These include) Working with the Watkin Jones Partnership to deliver a highly sought after development at Droyslden Marina, bringing new residents into the town centre and opening up the waterfront.
“Successfully securing £800,000 in Brownfield Homes funding which contributed to relocating the Library into Guardsman Tony Downes house, and the demolition of the existing building to unlock potential for 80 new homes; delivering new housing in partnership with registered providers, with 120 new homes on Farfield Road and unlocking other sites.
“During Covid we utilised Welcome Back funding to green and clean the town centre, launched the Discover App which links residents with local businesses and encourages visitors and brought back the Droylsden Druids activity trail to the town centre.
“The redeveloped Active Medlock centre provides a fantastic facility for health and leisure activities for residents.
“We also secured £200,000 from the Jamworks development to improve local infrastructure and provide more green space on the edge of town, including a children’s play area.
“With the development of town centre masterplans, we remain committed to improving all of our town centres and will always seek opportunities to bring further investment into the borough and will continue to bid for funding pots where they become available.
“We maintain a recycling and waste collection service across the Borough including Droylsden. Residents can download an app to find out what days their recycling and waste collection is picked up and what they can recycle. More information can be found at Recycling within Tameside Greater Manchester.”
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