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Full text of the
budget speech given by Cllr Matthew Barber, Shadow
Cabinet Member for Finance.
The past year has been
an interesting one for this Council. With a backdrop of economic
uncertainty across the country, the public that we represent
expect from the Council: Responsibility: Rigour and Results. The
public expect us to take responsibility for the actions of the
Council. This Party has always been clear that it is the
politicians that must take the blame (and the credit) for the
things that are done in the name of the Vale of White Horse.
Unlike the Party opposite we do not believe in blaming officers
and partners for the mistakes that have been made. After more
than ten years in control surely the Lib Dems have no excuses
left. The public also expects rigour in our business dealings.
The overspends, bad estimates, and poor management of the last
twelve months are all down to the Council’s Executive, and their
failure to provide rigorous oversight. There can be no more
ostrich politics, with portfolio holders burying their heads in
the sand. They, collectively, have failed. The public want to
see results. Value for money, efficient and easy to access
services. The public not only desire, but deserve, the best
services that our excellent officers can provide; with the
assistance, not the interference of Members.
But the last year has been in stark contrast to these
expectations. Instead of the three Rs of Responsibility; Rigour
and Results, this Council has delivered three Cs: Cowardice,
Chaos and most of all, Cuts. Is it any wonder the public are
disillusioned with local democracy when, rather than leading
from the front, rather than displaying the responsibility that
the public expect, the controlling Party displays distinct
political cowardice. We have seen a tendency to delay difficult
decisions, even a tendency to delay relatively easy decisions.
A trait epitomised this evening by the cowardly declaration that
the Leader intends to use Executive powers to defer the increase
in charging for community groups in our civic halls, just
fifteen days before the Wantage & Grove by-elections. Do they
really think that anyone would have been fooled by this?
Instead of rigour, we are given chaos. There has been mistake
after mistake after mistake. There were the grants that no-one
knew we were getting; there were the grants no-one knew we were
losing. There were the bills that we didn’t realise we had to
pay, and the bills that we simply didn’t pay. There were the
under estimates of costs, and the over spends of revenue. Do we
see clear leadership? No. Instead we see divided leadership,
hanging on by their fingertips. Not solving the problems, simply
dealing with the symptoms. And now the cuts. In last year’s
budget the provision of bus passes was reduced, despite the
guarantees of the Leader and in line with our predictions. And
what do we have again this year? Yet another cut to the bus pass
scheme, hiding behind the government scheme, they are unable to
maintain the support to elderly people that the public have come
to expect. We have had planned cuts to CCTV provision, which was
only uncovered by opposition members, following failed
procedures - forcing an embarrassing climb down. The much
heralded LSP service is to be reduced. Wantage is to have it’s
LSP moved from its current location on cost grounds and to loose
its cash office; Abingdon will also stop taking cash, and it has
never started accepting credit cards; and the Faringdon office
is due to be closed completely, meaning that the Council will
effectively be pulling out of the town all together, and at the
same time jeopardising the future of the Town Council office.
There are however a number of proposals included in this budget
of which we approve. I will list these first, quite frankly it
is a shorter list! We welcome the admission in the capital
programme that the Vale is a full partner in the AbITS scheme,
in fact Vale Lib Dem members are up to their necks in it. The
capital programme shows the truth of the Council’s involvement.
Where as last year’s Lib Dem literature suggested that only
£15,000 was being spent by the Vale it is clear that this
snapshot does not show the whole picture. In fact the Vale will
have spent over quarter of a million pounds by the end of next
year. We also welcome the increase in capital funding for flood
prevention work, much needed following the experiences of 2007.
Furthermore we welcome the appointment of a Leisure Planning &
Projects officer. For too long this Council has failed to get
the most from S106 agreements, the strengthening of our planning
in this area may have helped to secure a Wantage Arts Centre,
how many other opportunities have been missed? Let us hope that
this is not too little, too late.
We then come to the large an unexpected increase in pension
provision. This is another example of where the short
sightedness of the Lib Dem administration has led to further
costs for the taxpayer. If, like other Conservative Councils the
Vale had made earlier contributions to the pension scheme,
rather than stepping the payments due to our poor financial
position we would have been able to significantly reduce the
additional burden of £440,000 which we are now having to pay.
Have we learnt from this lesson? Of course not. Having raided
the reserves to pay the bill this year, the budget that we are
presented with this evening shows that we have no intention to
build up any similar reserve for future pension contributions.
Yet this is not the only expected cost. Yet again we have
underestimated the costs of the bus pass scheme. We are again,
another £100,000 over budget, meaning that the scheme will be
reduced even more this year. Those qualifying will only be able
to use their bus passes from 9.30am, rather than the 9am that is
currently the case. Now the Executive blame the Government, yet
other authorities, with better financial planning and management
are able to maintain the early start over and above the
statutory scheme. Let us hear no more false promises for the
Leader that the scheme will continue unchanged. Yet again it is
the public that suffer.
In the last two weeks it has also become clear that our budget
monitoring is simply not up to scratch. Our accountants were
already predicting an overspend of £75,000, which has been
budgeted for, but this has now escalated to quarter of a million
pounds. If only portfolio holders had a better grip on their
service areas perhaps this could have been foreseen. It is one
thing to have a large overspend that is at least predicted and
planned for, but it is quite another to have an overspend which
is equivalent of a nearly 5% increase in Council Tax. Even if
the first offence were excusable, the latter certainly is not.
So with this backdrop of such a poor record, the evidence of
poor control, and failed leadership, what do we see in this
budget proposal? Well thought through efficiency savings?
Proposals for improved management? Protection of frontline
services? Not a bit of it. Instead we see panic and chaos,
squeezes and cuts. Rather than restoring confidence, this budget
simply raises more questions.
This year there is an increase of £40,000 for the Capita
‘Collection Guarantee’. A fine proposal in principle, but is it
really an increase? Well no, it isn’t. Actually as so many
things it is the correction of an error. This large sum should
have been included in last year’s budget, indeed we have had to
pay this bill already, but this is the first year anyone has
thought to show it in the budget.
Then there is the climate change strategy. The introduction to
the strategy states, and I quote, “The Council aims to get its
own house in order”. What a wise lesson, and perhaps one that
our finance portfolio holder should consider. The Strategy
called for revenue expenditure of over quarter of a million
pounds (that’s right, about the same amount as the predicted
overspend for this year). The capital that was supposed to be
invested in this project was £365,000 over three years. This is
more than 12% of this years entire capital programme. After
taking all the credit for this hugely ambitious scheme, the
inevitable has happened. Quietly, hoping no-one would notice,
the Executive have effectively abandoned their plans. They wrote
the strategy, without realising the dire financial straits in
which they are in, and now realise that they cannot fund it.
Instead they are putting in less than one third of the money
needed this year, and this will rise to only 40% by the end of
the three year plan. A truly shameful result. If you are going
to do something, do it properly.
Yet, what about the little things? Turning off the lights?
Turning down the heating. For the past two years at least there
has been a ‘future’ budget saving proposed from reduced utility
costs, yet has anything concrete actually happened? Yes we are
slowly replacing our light bulbs with energy savings ones, but
despite numerous calls from Conservative members they have
failed to do the simplest thing, turn the thermostat down. It
would be quite possible, to reduce the temperature in Abbey
House by just a couple of degree, leaving it a perfectly
comfortable working environment, yet saving the Council money
and reducing our carbon emissions, yet after two years of
planning, they cannot even manage to do this one simple thing.
But was there light at the end of the tunnel? No doubt the Lib
Dem group thought all their Christmases had come early when they
were presented with an “easy option”. For a group that seems to
care little about the good management of this Council the idea
of more vacant posts would not worry them. Yet again we see our
excellent officers being squeezed more and more and yet being
expected to produce more and more. Therefore it is now proposed
that we reduce our salary provision from 95% to 94%. A small
move on paper, which saves over £100,000, but one which will put
added pressure on managers to take longer to recruit, to keep
posts vacant, all at a time when we should be investing in our
most valuable asset – our staff.
There are the concerns over the Civic Halls and Leisure Centres.
Already under review and due to have their hours cut. And to add
further worries for the people of the Vale, we have heard this
evening that the portfolio holder will not even give a clear
guarantee on the future of Wantage Civic Hall! Does this spell
the beginning of the pull our from Wantage, as we have seen in
Faringdon?
These are facilities, much valued by the public, which this
Party views as an asset to the Vale, whereas the Party opposite
seems to treat them as a burden.
This year’s budget has been a chaotic sham from start to finish.
Within the last seven days further savings have been sort in
order to bolster the finances. The penultimate version of the
budget was published with £135,000 worth of savings missing!
Only to be added at the last minute in an undignified scrum to
prop up the budget. Call this open and transparent consultation?
And why are we having to make these savings? To reduce Council
Tax? To make investment in important services? No, simply so
that we have a contingency in case we are capped for our high
Council Tax increase. The savings identified by the Lib Dems
raise two questions, both of which will be of interest to the
public. Are the Lib Dems running this Council efficiently? And
are we delivering for the public? Sadly the answer to both of
those questions must be no. The vast majority of the £120,000
identified as savings were items that we should have been saving
anyway. I estimate at least £90,000 worth of savings should have
been included in the first place, why do portfolio holders only
deliver them when up against the wall? It is clear that only
budget pressures, not diligence will force efficiency at the
Vale. Yet to top up the savings needed to compensate for the
risk of capping, community grants have been cut yet again, and
the plan to introduce parking payment by mobile phone has been
scrapped. The latter will no doubt further damage our economy.
At a time when the hikes in parking charges have severely
damaged local traders, especially in Abingdon, it is appalling
to scrap a scheme which allowed us to compete as attractive
shopping places with our near neighbours. The 9% cut in
Community Grants is also shocking. After reducing these grants
year on year, despite Conservative proposals last year to
increase the fund by more than £130,000, yet again we see
£10,000 being taken out of the pot to plug holes. On our own
area committees we all know how hard it can be to find the
funding that voluntary groups not only apply for and deserve.
Collectively they do more good for the Vale than this Council
will ever do, for a lot less money. They have the expertise and
the vision that is needed, and yet we seem more and more
reluctant to help them, but would rather run our own schemes,
thinking that we know best.
Also affecting these important community groups is the plan to
removal of the significant discount for those booking one of our
halls. Yet again this will hit our voluntary services where it
hurts, in their pockets. But tonight we see the most blatent act
of cowardice: to delay the cuts until after the Wantage & Grove
by-election. Why can they not either have the courage of their
convictions, or even better follow our advice and do not make
the cut!
So what have we been presented with tonight? Cowardice, Chaos
and Cuts. A poorly prepared budget, showing lack of foresight,
political opportunism and cuts, one that this Party cannot
possibly support. This morning my bundle of budget papers fell
apart, I hope that this isn’t an omen of another year’s poor
financial management. |
