3 March (Part 2) - Leaf lays it on the line
As promised,
herewith Cabinet Member David Leaf’s marathon session at last week’s
Cabinet Meeting. He is Bexley Council’s star performer in front of a microphone.
He began by thanking the staff who had helped construct
the balanced budget, in particular Caroline Holland who is “outstanding” and
Catherine Peter who is the “lynchpin”. Both are leaving the Council imminently
and may already have done so.
He said he was presenting his seventh draft budget and each and every time “the
risks, challenges and pressures grow. Our borough is at the mercy of funding
decisions taken by Government” and this has been the case since the turn of the
century. New laws, new responsibilities and funding distribution all dictate how budgets are set.
At the last Cabinet meeting the update was given based on what was known last
December but now it can be based on the final settlement. Bexley will get £5·4
million more this year than last but it includes 1·6 million of NIC contribution
which is far lower than what is needed. In the previous three years the grant
increases have been £8m, £11·2m and £8m respectively, hence the budget gap increasing.
Bexley got nothing from the new Government’s so called Recovery Grant whilst
Greenwich got £3·8m, Lewisham received £5·3m, Hackney £9·7m and Newham £11m
which has been allowed to increase its Council Tax by 8·99% plus an extra
handout of £50 million. It was funded in part by removing Bexley’s Services
Grant. Bexley is getting the lowest per capita grant in London.
The new formula is such that next year “Bexley will receive an even smaller
slice of the pie. It is a serious risk”.
The total support for Children’s Services is only £11,000 higher than it was for
last year and there is no assurance that that grant will continue into next
year. The schools settlement “is among the lowest in the country”.
The Health settlement is “broadly in line” with national averages but the Public
Health Grant is lower than both the national and London averages and
insufficient to service the borough. £46·07 per head in Bexley is only 54% of
the London average. The amount of the Household Support Grant is still unknown
just a matter of weeks before residents will need that support and because of
the withdrawal of WFA, residents need it more than ever. Nationally the overall
amount has been cut by 13·5%.
The Council Tax freeze funded by a tax on the energy companies promised in the
Labour Manifesto has not been forthcoming despite the energy companies being
subjected to the extra tax. It is one of many broken promises from “the shoddy,
shambolic, self-serving Socialist Government.”
63% of Bexley’s spending comes from Council Tax receipts. In Greenwich it is
38%" reflecting how much more generous Governments are to Socialist boroughs.
At Band D, Council Tax will have to rise by £1·62 a week
(4·99%) but the GLA will push the real figure higher than that.
To achieve that, all fees and charges have been increased by an average of 2%.
The expected income is £53 million. It is anticipated that Adult Care
expenditure will be able rise by 6%, 18% extra for Children and Education, 6% more for
Places and 9% more for Corporate Services and this will come from drawing down
on Capital “which is not ideal”.
Lightening the tone a little, Councillor Leaf said he had no intention of asking
AI to write his speeches but he had experimented with ChatGPT. He asked it if
David Leaf was an expert in Local Government finance. It replied that he was
“not generally recognised as an expert in finance. His focus has been on
Environment Policy and Public Service as he has served as Cabinet Member for
Environment at Bexley Council”. Clearly ChatGPT needs further work.
Undeterred, David asked another question and was similarly insulted. I think his
message is that AI in Council use may be a risky business.
On current assumptions the budget gap could rise to £43·9 million in 2028/29 but
equally well it could be a lot lower depending on Government decisions and that
unknown is a major risk. National Insurance contributions are another major
risk, the increase will cost more than £1 million per year with a further effect
on “third party spend” not to mention the increase to the National Living Wage
and the NJC wage claims which is for a minimum increase of “£3,468 at each pay
point, a two hour reduction to the working week and an extra day of annual
leave”. If agreed it will cost Bexley an extra £10 million.
David said he has taken time out of balancing the budget to assess Councillor
Nicola Taylor’s request for him to fund free school meals for every pupil, some
of whom already qualify under various existing schemes. Of the 40,000 pupils in
Bexley about 12,000 do not qualify under one of the aforementioned schemes.
Their breakfasts would cost £6·7 million a year. The Councillor had also
asked that Bexley Council takes over the pier and paths rubbish clearance
responsibilities from Erith Morrisons who she presumably thinks are not doing a good job.
Despite the general lack of money, some will be made available to increase Councillors’ allowances by 2%.
I am not sure how Bexley Council justifies sending nearly
£17,000 a month to
keep the Sidcup StoreyTeller going. A face saving operation presumably after
Councillor Craske embarked on such a risky enterprise. Does David Leaf even know
about that outflow? I was told it was one big dirty secret.