13 November (Part 2) - Financial Armageddon looms
There was one item towards the end of last week’s Full Council meeting that
should not be allowed to pass unrecorded. Labour Councillor Nicola Taylor’s
attack upon the record of BexleyCo, the Council owned company set up to make loadsamoney from building loadsahouses.
Erith’s Councillor said both political parties were concerned about the
Auditor’s report on the Council’s finances, it “made for distressing reading”.
The report said that “insufficient arrangements were in place to close the
budget gap and insufficient plans for financial resilience”. There would need to
be “unplanned service changes. This will be an issue that affects us all.”
“Members on the night raised concerns that reserves had travelled in the wrong
direction from £60 million in 2018 to £37 million [at the end of the 2019/20
financial year] and even lower now.”
“The Audit identified weaknesses in arrangements for planning finances, it is
clear our reserves have been plundered. Evidence of poor financial decisions.
Outsourcing has caused poor quality services and increased costs. The lack of a
Social Housing programme with the resultant waiting on housing lists for years
and years and overspends on housing for three years running. It points to
carelessness and incompetence. BexleyCo lost 0·6 million for the second
year running and to date not one single house has been built. You {the
Conservatives] said Bexley was safe in your hands, this Audit report says not.”
The Labour Leader referred to the lack of Scrutiny by Councillors on the relevant Committees.
Cabinet Member David Leaf appeared to be more subdued than usual saying only
that it was a draft Auditor’s report and Labour reduced the reserves to £5·6
million in 2006 and Councillor Leaf added that an example of the Council’s salvation was the million pounds per year
raised by the Garden Waste charges which Labour opposed and which was typical
of their poor planning. He wasn’t going to take lessons from Labour.
Hollow words now!
A lame response as some of my worried correspondents might agree.
Croydon overspending and no money in the bank. Bankrupt. Bexley overspending. Little money in the bank. Asking to borrow.…
But if it can’t? What next? Someone help. Find out next week at Cabinet. How did Bexley end up here in two years?
Was there financial mismanagement and a poor Chief or is it simply Covid? The auditors said the housing crisis was due
to a lack of oversight. The Finance Director agreed. He was totally unaware of a £2 million hole. But is ignorance a defence?
And another…
The front page of the papers are covered with housing overspend. Buried in the
latest Council report is the housing overspend. Nearly £5 million, and about
half not explained by Covid. So the Auditors and the Labour members should ask
where is the housing improvement plan.
Is this basically to add over £2 million to the budget so that it catches up
with what we spend? Had this been dealt with years ago, the budget gap would
have been £4 million less, two for last year, two for this year. And 150
employees would not be losing their jobs, it would have been more like 50.
Failure by Bexley managers has cost people their livelihoods and for us
residents loss of services for our children, our parents and our community.