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News and Comment December 2023

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2 December (Part 1) - From Vision to Vinyl. A Cabinet meeting report

There was only one topic of conversation at last week’s Public Cabinet meeting; money and Social Care which is money by another name.

Mr. Rowbotham the Director of Social Care said there was not a lot new to say and certainly nothing that would be of great interest here. His staff had produced a ‘Vision’. (Click for PDF.) Councillors Seymour (Conservative) and Borella (Labour) thought it was a good one. The latter asking that carers should always be looked after.

The Council Leader said that “In-year budget monitoring is not in a great situation at the moment with pressures coming through that everyone across the country is seeing”.

An overspend of £7·93 million to the end of September was reported all Directorates having contributed to it with Children’s Services being at Number One. The Capital programme is slipping with BexleyCo and Shenstone School heading that particular list. Council Tax collections are down.

Deputy Leader David Leaf said the overspend would be met from reserves. The new payment agreement would see a minimum pay rise of £2,226 or 3·8% extra for more senior staff. £3 million extra overall. The unions had asked for 13% extra for everyone.

Cabinet Member Richard Diment repeated his plea that residents stop putting recyclables in the green bin as it costs a lot of money. Every tonne of waste that does not go in the green bin saves £130. Parking Services are forecast to break even this year and PCN revenue is climbing. The situation at Felixstowe Road is improving.

Labour Leader Borella put in a plea for the pot hole money to be put to good use as potholes was the Number One complaint by residents “on the doorstep” but the Conservative Leader said that Bexley’s allocation was still unknown. Whatever the outcome Bexley has allocated an extra £1·6 million to fix potholes.

Councillor Borella managed to take another swipe at the In and rapidly Out Prime Minister Liz Truss who had allegedly almost single handedly wrecked the British economy, “a massive impact”, and Baroness O’Neill of Bexley said he “sounded like a broken record”.

 

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