Positive Action Group - Possan Jantys Jarrooagh

Oh how naïve and gullible....

I remember it well..... Mr Bell stood up at his election address in Ramsey less than a year ago, and stated that "the credit crunch of 2008 changes everything, and the public sector must change too, its culture, its working practices, its productivity etc etc". It sounded good at the time, because he was correct - early action within government was essential to address the major loss of revenue resulting from the renegotiated VAT Agreement, if services to the public were to be protected.

With three major "government consultations" currently in progress - covering the Scope and Structure of Government, Taxation Strategy 2012-2016, and Social Care Policy - the public have an opportunity to comment on some very significant matters of political and personal interest.

More significantly, our government - facing a dramatic decline in its revenues as a result of the VAT raid, and which has so far hidden its impact upon the public purse by a dependence on robbing the reserves - now faces the difficulties of "coming clean" as to the full impact.