Tough times are ahead for councils

AT moments of crisis it’s important to look at what you can do to help. Cheltenham tends to fare better than many places on a lot of measures, but as local people know our town shares many problems in common with other areas. We are not immune from the energy bills crisis, mortgage rate increases or the multiple other economic woes suffered by our country. Food bank use is booming.

Despite these problems, we are pressing ahead with our positive vision for the town.

That means proceeding with the Golden Valley development to bring new jobs, investing in affordable housing worth up to £180million, focusing on economic recovery and looking after the most vulnerable.

Those are all points I made this week in a letter to the new Secretary of State in charge of local Government.

But I also had to point out the stark reality. Our revenue budget for the Borough Council projects a £2million deficit this year. That’s despite the fact that this council has been run extremely well since the outset of austerity.

Our grant from central government has been reduced to £0 per year in 2022 from millions a decade ago. Various Government programmes and emergency budgets to fill the gap during that time have faded.

What won’t have made much news lately is the cancellation of the twoyear funding settlement for local Government.

Yet again, councils charged with delivering important day-to-day services like bin collections, food safety inspections, planning and licensing are left to make future forecasts based on almost nothing.

The Borough Council is not the only organisation facing this problem. The whole public sector is struggling.

With energy bill help time-limited for six months, further uncertainty is coming. Fairly soon, the Government will face a stark choice: recognise the problem and step in, or face widespread failure in public services in Cheltenham and across the country.

I’ve invited the new Secretary of State to visit Cheltenham to learn about what we are doing and how he can help. I hope he’ll take up my offer.