CUTS to public spending are never welcome, because they invariably mean much-needed services are going to be reduced or face the axe altogether.

We may keep hearing about the economy being in recovery after the years of credit crunch and recession, but that does not mean the economics of austerity are over – far from it.

In fact, Bradford Council says that it will have a whopping £130 million funding gap in the next six years if it doesn’t make serious changes to how it spends its money.

Choosing where the axe will inevitably fall is never a happy task, and when faced with such decisions it is impossible to ease back on spending without causing much upset.

Which is perhaps why Bradford Council bosses are opening up the decision-making process to the rest of us.

There will be a series of public meetings in which members of the public will get the chance to put forward their own ideas as to how money should be saved.

Whether the council will be able to act on suggestions from the public is another matter, and it may well be an exercise in illustrating just how difficult the task is.

But it does at least give people a chance to not only put forward their own ideas of where money can be saved, but also speak up for services and facilities that they feel should definitely not lose funding.

At the end of the day, the projected cuts cannot happen without some pain, somewhere, and we would all rather they didn’t happen at all. But this at least gives us a chance for our voices to be heard.