1 February (Part 2) - Council intent on impoverishing voters
An announcement was made at the beginning of Monday’s Cabinet meeting that it would be all about money. No change there then.
The latest forecast is that Bexley will overspend by £8·581 million which is £405,000 higher than the previous month’s forecast. £1·6 million of debt has had to be written
off in this financial year.
Cabinet Member Leaf did his best to defend and excuse the present undesirable
situation. He said the overspend was 4% of expenditure and pretty much the same
across Councils generally and Social Care was the main culprit. Inflation, Covid
and war (which he referred to later) were factors. Cabinet Member Read added that the overspend on Children’s Services was nearly £11
million because of additional staff costs and residential accommodation. Once
again other Councils were said to be in exactly the same boat. Children in care
numbers were up from 233 in 2021, 255 in 2022, 289 last December and up again since then. Domestic abuse is
the main factor and those in residential care cost taxpayers upwards of £4,000 a
week. One a staggering £16,000 a week! (Another local Council is paying £24,000 a week per child.)
In Bexley 140 children in care are asylum seekers.
Greenwich has a £32 million overspend, Lewisham £35 million and Redbridge £41
million totalling £500 million across the 32 London boroughs.
Neither Councillors Leaf nor Read got around to mentioning the
names of the architects of the crumbling edifices that are local Councils. Cameron, Osborne,
Hammond, May, Javid, Sunak, Zahawi and Hunt. Nearer to home one might add the
names Campbell, Massey and O’Neill. Bad decision after bad decision has led to the inevitable consequence.
In the immortal words of Liam Byrne, “there is no money”.
The Labour Leader
sought to dismiss the overspend by the Labour boroughs noted above and
concentrate on Tory Bexley. When was there last not an overspend? (It was in the year 2021/22.)
For how long can we keep blaming Covid? Councillor Borella additionally ridiculed the Leader’s constant
requests for a Fair Funding Review after 14 years of Conservative Government. Instead it has reduced Bexley’s grant by 66%.
“The budget is out of control and if it is not dealt with the overspends will come out
of our reserves.” Leader Teresa O’Neill agreed and “the Fair Funding Review is not going to happen”.
Cabinet Member Read responded with - or at least strongly implied - that Covid
caused lockdowns and lockdowns caused mental health issues, and mental health
too often led to domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is driving child care numbers.
Councillor David Leaf came back to say that Councils were “experiencing
unprecedented pressures”. Expenditure was up and income, notably parking revenue
post-Covid, was down. Health Service strikes impact the budget too and the
budget gaps get wider. I have seen David criticised for a lack of financial
qualifications but he appears to have a better grasp of financial affairs than any
former Bexley Cabinet Member for Resources
that I have listened to over the years. It is of course a low bar or we may have
avoided being where we are now.
Bexley’s Council Tax will go up by 4·99% again (subject to Full Council
approval) whilst Sadiq Khan will grab
another 8·6% which makes for 71% of additional profligacy in eight years. The ultimate proof perhaps
that whilst the Conservatives have been abysmal it is possible to elect worse.
Then David went all Socialist on us by announcing a 100% Council Tax surcharge on
second homes and further penalties on empty homes from 2025. The result of 2023
so-called Conservative legislation.
Further impositions will see most Council fees and charges rise by between 3 and 25% from April.
Garden waste up another fiver and charity shops hit with increased waste collection
charges. Families trying to be self-sufficient in vegetables will be hit with an
11% higher allotment fee. And then the big one…
Car parking charges are up yet again by varying amounts but commonly around 10%. The £15 over four
hours charge in Abbey Wood will rise by 80 pence. I can see the logic of that.
If someone is ready to pay fifteen quid you may as well take the suckers for 16.
To Hell with any knock on effect on parking misery in surrounding streets.
Probably the strategy is to stoke up a clamour for CPZs and a £150 per annum parking tax on residents.
The few car parks that have been free overnight will now cost £2·50.
It is an appalling situation when the electoral choice
nationally is between bad and worse. The consequence of electing to Government
leaders with little interest in the welfare of their populations has
recently been seen in the Netherlands, Germany, France and now Spain. Sooner or later patience is exhausted.