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News and Comment March 2024

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7 March (Part 2) - Leader and Deputy talk tough

Let’s start with Teresa O’Neill’s opening words about the need to raise more taxes. Would she make a better job of impressing me than Jeremy Hunt earlier in the day? As far as I am concerned that should be an easy job. Nationally the Tories are toast and deserve to be.

She started with a statement of the obvious. They have to set a balanced budget and this year has “not been an easy one”. There has been no opportunity to increase the reserves in 2023/24.

Grasping for something good to say she reminded everyone that a year ago Bexley scored an ‘Outstanding’ rating for children in care and secured funds for Shenstone School to be completed in September 2025.

A new Library was opened in Thamesmead and Country Style has improved its services. Missed bins, recycling batteries and electrical goods etc. A Bank Hub came to Welling after innumerable bank closures.

The pandemic, demographic changes and inflation are all making life difficult and nowhere worse than in Adult and Child Care Services. Costs are rising steeply but Bexley is doing better than any neighbouring boroughs when it comes to arranging hospital discharges for people who continue to need care. The Government still refuses to provide any more money. Some excuses were offered for the SEND failures.

Labour Councils are still making housing difficult by dumping their homeless in Bexley and the reduction in parking income is doing the budgeting no good at all. Fewer commuters and fewer shoppers got the blame. The Fair Funding formula continues to favour Greenwich over Bexley but Greenwich is cutting services too. “It is so frustrating that it is not a level playing field.”

Fortunately the pot hole money this year and next is coming directly to Councils so the Mayor cannot “top slice it” for his own nefarious purposes.

‘Making Bexley Even Better’ count. Two.

Deputy Leader David Leaf added that he was controlling risks and “the resource envelope would be expanded”. I think that means looking for more ways of robbing residents. “Next year will be a tough challenge.”

MBEB count; One.

 

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