Cuts and hikes...

While the government are chopping away at our public services, reducing the service we are going to receive. We, the public, are busy scraping together the pennies to try and afford the rise in VAT, tax, inflation... you get my point.

Perhaps one of the most controversial of price rises, is University tuition fees. After Nick Clegg's, now notorious pledge to cut fee's, if he were to get into power, the price to further your education could rise from three thousand pounds to over nine thousand.

The theory from the coalition government is that the new payment model will make it fairer to all students and ensure that a degree keeps it's worth, rather than every Joe Bloggs having one, thus making them worthless.

I see the argument. With over half a million applicants scrabbling to get onto courses last year, you can see why there needs to be a change.

But surely making it to University should be based on your ability to succeed once you're there. Not on whether you can afford to be there?

If there needs to be a change, then raise the standard.

If you haven't got the grades, you can't go to University. It's no different to the real world. If you aren't good enough for a job, you won't get it.

Universities are fast becoming businesses rather than educational institutions and the sooner the focus switches back to education and not funding, the better.

There are changes needed, no doubt. But enforcing anyone who wants to go to University to leave with a debt of up to thirty thousand pounds. It's hard to see the benefits there. (unless of course your looking after the countries finances)

Double dip? Cut it out!

While we're all worrying whether we can still afford the expensive brand of cereal in our weekly shop the Police force of the UK is pondering over a slightly larger problem. How do we replace £1 billion's worth of funding?

There is no question we all need to keep an eye on our outgoings and it's not only the UK. We have already seen what happens if simply nothing is done to stop the rot. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have been the unfortunate examples of that.

George Osbourne had a choice to make. Either let us all off the hook with a slap on the wrists for being so frivolous with our money and give us a year or two to sort out the mess. Or hit us hard and ensure we face up to our debts without any excuses.

He chose the latter. And while none of us can be sure if it was the right or wrong call, not at least for a few years, should he have been so brutal with the cuts to the Public sector and in particular, the Police?

A 23% cut to the Home Office budget over the next 4 years, was the dose of medicine needed thought the Chancellor. So that was that. From the 20th October 2010 the police and plenty of other government departments faced massive cuts to their budget.

Now, I'm not trying to say this is all the chancellors fault. There is no doubt he was left with a horrible amount of debt from the previous government, not even Labour could deny that one.

But to take so much money out of the economy and the services we loyally pay for through tax, which by the way is going up, is a drastic solution.

The news that the economy had worringly shrunk, over the usually affluent christmas period I hope is not a sign of things to come.

The media are busy telling us all about a 'double dip' recession again. I hate that phrase. Does anyone really think we have come out of the last one yet?! There is no double or dip. We are in a slump and have been for the last 3 years.

But back to the police and whilst covering this story I have come to the conclusion that the Police will be ok. Ex cheif constable Tim Brain told me that 10 years ago, there were far less officers than there are now and we weren't all in constant house arrest through fear then.

Technology now is better and the promise, from the government, of cutting red tape in the force can only be a good thing.

So we need not worry about the state of the countries police force, they'll adapt. Mainly because they have too, but also because, as Ian Tomlinson told me. "If we have a job to do. We'll do it"

Which is a big relief because my 'Frosties' box is nearly empty.