Union warns of cuts' true cost

The government has been warned that "savage" cuts in public spending were posing a threat to local communities and hitting the prospects for economic recovery, as a new dossier of job losses was published.

Unison detailed about 100,000 posts facing the axe in local authorities, the NHS, police forces, the fire service and education following announcements in the past six weeks alone.

It said a growing number of workers were being consigned to the dole queue, threatening the services they provided - including 1,600 at the Heart of England NHS Trust, 1,200 council jobs in Hampshire, 1,000 in Norfolk and 400 in East Sussex.