Mayor urges swift decision
Time to end uncertainty over HS2 after review backs line Council tax rise criticised as social care runs under budget
THE next Prime Minister must make “a very early decision” to build the HS2 high speed rail line, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has insisted.
He spoke after it emerged a review into the rail network commissioned by Boris Johnson had concluded it should go ahead.
A panel chaired by Douglas Oakervee, the former HS2 chairman, found that the cost of HS2 was likely to exceed £88 billion, but the line would benefit the North and Midlands and should be built in full.
The findings have not been officially published but were leaked to The Times newspaper.
Conservative Mr Street is one of a number of politicians from across the North and Midlands demanding a firm commitment to build the HS2 network to connect Birmingham, London, Manchester and Leeds.
He said: “This is going to be a very early decision for whichever incoming government it is, and a moment for showing national leadership.
“We need a commitment to something that I am certain will be seen for generations to come as a critical investment to the future of the country, and will drive the economic revival of the Midlands and the North.
“This is something I want and expect and support from the incoming government.”
BIRMINGHAM council bosses have been criticised for proposing to increase council tax to fund social care when the service is running at millions of pounds under budget.
Opposition groups have claimed unspent social care funding is being redirected to ‘prop up’ other departments such as bin collections and
Mr Street was a member of the review panel chaired by Mr Oakervee. He said he could not comment on the contents of the report before it was officially published.
Labour election candidate Liam Byrne, standing in Hodge Hill, said it was time to end uncertainty about HS2.
He said: “This report confirms yet again, that HS2 is a game-changer for Birmingham, giving us massive new capacity for rail connections all over Britain.
“What more, it’s crucial to taking hundred of thousands of trucks off the road, declogging the motorways and helping us lead a Green revolution. So we’ve had enough of debates and reports.
“All parties now need to get behind delivering it.”
Conservative
election described the situation as a ‘scandal’.
But council leader Ian Ward (Lab) said the service relied on ‘one-off’ government funding which would likely be removed in future years.
This week cabinet bosses agreed for the council’s draft 2020/21 budget proposals to go out to public consultation later this month.
They include £5.5 million worth of cuts overall, plans to axe around 50 jobs and an increase to council tax of candidate Andrew Mitchell, standing in Sutton Coldfield, said: “If these reports are accurate then it is very good news for Birmingham and the West Midlands.
“HS2 has the ability to generate huge economic activity, jobs and increasing wealth for our area.”
Politicians in the Midlands are not alone in supporting HS2, with those in the North also welcoming suggestions that the inquiry had backed the line.
As well as bringing investment, they say HS2 is required to allow a second scheme called Northern Powerhouse Rail to go ahead, including a new cross-Pennine line between Manchester and Leeds.
The inquiry is said to have concluded that HS2 will benefit cities in the North and Midlands more than London.
The journey from Leeds to Birmingham will be more than halved, from about two hours to 45 minutes, while an hour will be cut from the journey time from Newcastle to Birmingham, taking it to one hour 57 minutes.
The inquiry also warned that if HS2 was scrapped then ticket prices on existing long-distance services would have to rise, as this would be the only way to tackle overcrowding.
Opponents of the HS2 line said the inquiry was a whitewash.
Penny Gaines, chairman of Stop HS2, said: “It comes as no surprise that the former chair of HS2 Ltd, still thinks HS2 is a good idea, in spite of the massive cost increase and years of extra delays.”
This is going to be a very early decision for whichever incoming government it is
Mayor Andy Street
3.99 per cent. The rise, which equates to an extra £55 on the bill for those in Band D properties, includes a two per cent precept for social care.
Yet it comes after social care was underspent by £11 million last year and is forecast to come in £8 million under budget for the current 2019/20 financial period.
Cllr Jon Hunt, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, criticised the budget for lacking an explanation of how the social care would be spent.
He said: “It is a scandal that the city council is diverting money from social services for other purposes, mostly to prop up the failing waste collection service. It is outrageous that residents are being told they have to pay extra for social services when the council is diverting money from this hard-pressed service.”
Cllr Ward assured councillors that
precept
funding the ‘social care precept invested in social care’.
He said: “The social care budget is propped up by one-off government funding that we know is likely to fall out in future. The government has announced an extra £1.5 billion for social care but in that number they are assuming all local authorities will be taking the two per cent precept and Birmingham City Council are consulting on precisely that.”
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