THE three main political parties are finally in agreement about something.

They all now say that public spending has to be reduced. But what will be cut, how big will the cuts be and when will the cuts be made?

Business leaders say that Britain needs a plan to balance the national budget by 2015 and that tough decisions will have to be made.

There are already signs that big cuts will be needed in the NHS. According to one leaked report, hospitals and primary care trusts are planning cuts amounting to billions of pounds.

Possibly 60 per cent of the patients who currently go to the accident and emergency departments in hospitals will instead be treated in community clinics.

In Hartlepool, that will mean going to the new clinic in Park Road, which is due to be completed in the middle of next year. It may also be necessary to consider cancelling the new acute hospital at Wynyard.

If so, it is possible that the remaining hospital services will be centralised at North Tees.

It is clear that Britain, along with many other countries, faces a difficult future.

Public spending will have to be cut, jobs will be lost and taxes will go up. The belt-tightening starts soon.

Jim Allan, Hartlepool.