Labour ‘incapable’ of running council, claims opposition City ‘run down’ due to mismanaged services
BIRMINGHAM’S Labour-run council would not be forced into such swingeing cuts if it had not mishandled changes to bin collections and other services, opposition leaders have claimed.
Tory and Lib Dem councillors also accused the council of moving money and cuts around rather than making genuine savings.
Liberal Democrat leader Jon Hunt (Perry Barr) said the waste collection department was now costing £5 million a year more because the council could not run it within budget limits.
He said: “In addition, plans to save money from privatisation and from the return of the Tyseley incinerator site have been scaled back from £17.6m in 2019 to £10.8m.
“That is a total of £12 million extra going into the service on an annual basis in this year’s business plan. The Kerslake report suggested that £14 ly warned that, with vital support pulled, many will end up on the streets and there is a real prospect of a cardboard city developing.
Jean Templeton, of St Basils, reminded the crowd that the city had seen a 53 per cent rise in rough sleeping in a year and before the cuts had gone through.
And Yardley Labour MP and for- million worth of savings should be made from privatisation. Instead of costs going down they are going up – for an inferior service.
“That money on its own would avoid many of the service cuts that are proposed in adult social services, such as closure of day centres.”
The waste service is currently under a major review ahead of the major Tyseley incinerator contract ending in 2019.
Councillor Hunt said the Lib Dem group was open minded about privatisation of the service.
Meanwhile, Conservative group leader Robert Alden (Erdington) has accused the Labour leadership of hiding cuts – pointing out the threatened £750,000 cut to the Birmingham Museums Trust budget has actually been delayed a year instead of withdrawn completely.
He also pointed out that a £5.2 million cut to the budget which pays charities and housing associations for supporting the vulnerable, homeless and disabled had merely mer councillor Jess Phillips warned her former colleagues that any reduction in support would end up costing more.
She said: “It not only will not save any money, it will cost more money.
“Last year, Birmingham City Council spent double the amount from the year before on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless fami- been scaled back to a £3.2 million cut. And both the Conservatives and Lib Dems highlighted the fact that, despite concessions, the parks budget is still being slashed by £1.2 million which will see grass cutting, flower bed planting, activities and the number of staff reduced.
Councillor Alden also pointed out that the council had a £10 million windfall from a Government-backed business rate retention scheme and should not be making the cuts at all.
He said: “Worse of all the savings they are making are to frontline vital services not from the back office. They don’t have to run our city down like this but Labour have proven themselves incapable of running the city properly, instead leaving a huge black hole in the council finances.
“No wonder they have had ten different external investigations and monitoring reports carried out into their failings so far and counting.”
He said that Birmingham resdients could still end up paying to visit the city’s museum and art gallery as lies in places I wouldn’t stay in for all the money in the world.
“So, what is being suggested is cutting support so we can pay more money for a crap service with no support. It’s a false economy. I urge the good people in the building behind me to think again.” a result of the council’s mismanagement.
Both the Tories and Lib Dems have promised to put forward alternative budgets ahead of the final meeting on February 28.
But the Labour leadership hit back, saying that despite some new money coming in, the council’s costs had risen by £110 million.
Deputy leader Ian Ward said that they had to make cuts because the Government was dramatically cut the council’s budget.
“More so when you are having to put extra money into social care because the Government has failed to,” he added.
Council leader John Clancy also accused the Conservative Government of being in disarray over cuts as, despite councils being in the final stages of planning their 2017/18 budget, the council has still not received details of their final grant from Government. financial