23 February (Part 2) - The financial future. Starmageddon?
There was a Part 2 to the Cabinet meeting. Part 1 was the past
and present but Part 2 was crystal ball territory, nevertheless Miss
Holland was absolutely sure of one thing. Bexley Council has no interest in
abandoning its mission to remain for ever the highest taxing Conservative
borough in London and she hoped that the limit of 1·99% on annual increases would be abandoned by a future government.
As if it was something to be ashamed of she said that some of Bexley’s fees and
charges “were in the lowest quartile in London” and the plan was to “put them on
a more equally footing”. I think that is code for fleecing residents left right and centre.
She said she was aiming not to “price ourselves out of the market” although for me she has
done exactly that.
Once again Cabinet Member Leaf responded with the word “challenging” and
promised not to go on for more than another hour (nearly 40 minutes actually.)
Did he say anything worthwhile other than repeat the word challenging 50 times?
• The Russian invasions of Crimea and Ukraine has had a cost impact. 400 Ukranians are guests of Bexley Council.
• The opposition indulges in the politics of division but Conservatives - let me summarise half a dozen sentences - are brilliant.
• £143 million of savings have been delivered since 2012.
• Council Tax has been kept down. (No one shouted liar, that came later.)
• The UK economy is growing faster than our principal European competitors despite “a shallow [UK] recession”.
• Next yearְ’s Council Tax rate would be lower in real terms than in 2006.
• In 2024/25, £215 million would be spent on services. £25·9 million more than in 2023/24 but it will mainly go on inflation and the lock down legacy.
• The average spend would be around £1,500 per Bexley resident.
A lot of time was taken up by repeating what had happened at several recent Committee meetings nearly all of which has already been reported here.
Councillor Leaf referenced an error he had made at the recent Children’s meeting an detailed
in an Addendum to the Agenda which has not been made available to the public.
He alleged that the Labour Group had said that Covid was “an excuse” for the
Children’s overspend and it “was appalling” that the excuse had been used. Labour Councillors Perfect and Amaning both went
down that road at the Scrutiny
meeting but Councillor Leaf admitted to misquoting both of them in “the original
papers”. In which papers I am not quite sure. Enquiries continue.
If Labour didn’t like his budget he hoped the opposition could submit
a “radical alternative” and not fiddle around the edges.