Cuts crisis can be parked right at the Tories’ door

Published: 2 July, 2010

• WESTMINSTER Conservatives plan to slash £60million from the council’s budget over the next three years in order to fill the £20million-a-year black hole in the council’s finances caused by their failure to accurately predict the amount of income they would get from parking charges and parking fines.

The Conservatives plan to cut £8.7million in 2010/11; £24.1million in 2011/12 and £26.5million in 2012/13.

The £60million of cuts come on top of the £5.7million of cuts unveiled by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government earlier.

In addition Westminster residents face further service cuts as a result of George Osborne’s Budget where massive cuts of up to 25 per cent in public spending were announced.

The council front-line service cuts and increased charges over the next three years include:
• £3.6million cut from the adult day care services that will mean that fewer adults will get the day care they need;
• £1.1million increased charges for adult services leading to only those who can afford to pay will get help;
• £1.6million cut in children’s day care and Early Years provision that will mean fewer day care places;
• £900,000 cut in youth and play services which will lead to less for young people to do and an increase in anti-social behaviour;
• £950,000 cut in family centres and services will mean less support for vulnerable families in need of help;
• £1million cut in library services, including fewer new books to be bought, CD purchases to be stopped and fewer staff in the libraries at weekend;
• £300,000 cut in sports and leisure provision, hitting young people hard;
• £1million cut in planning staff which will mean delays in getting planning applications dealt with;
• a new charge of £100 for residents to arrange a meeting to discuss a residential planning application;
• £2.5 million cut in street sweeping resulting in dirtier streets all over Westminster, particularly in residential streets;
• scrapping of the garden waste recycling service to save £450,000, leading to less recycling;
• increases in the cost of using public toilets by £1.5million leading to more people urinating in the street; and
• £1.2 million from the communication budget leading to a very welcome cut in council spin and propaganda.

These latest £60million cuts have nothing to do with and are in addition to the government’s cuts.

They are entirely the fault of Westminster’s Conservative councillors who have so spectacularly ruined the council’s finances that front-line services will now be cut and will hit every single resident, whether they are young or old, in every part of Westminster.

Every street will be swept less, every person who visits a library will have less choice, elderly people will get fewer services and many will pay more and there will be less opportunity for young people to play sport.

Using public toilets will cost more and there will be fewer day nurseries and less recycling.

The Conservative councillors responsible for this financial fiasco are all in this mess together.

They have brought the council to its knees by their failure over many years to understand that you cannot run the council’s finances based on unpredictable and unsustainable levels of parking fines and parking charges.

The Conservatives should accept responsibility for their failure and resign.

CLLR PAUL DIMOLDENBERG
Leader of the Labour Group