Lib Dems support Council Budget

The Liberal Democrats supported Warrington Borough Council's proposal to increase Council Tax by 4.98% at yesterday's Budget meeting.

Pressures on local government are so strong that there is very little scope for doing things differently. An increase is needed to protect vital public services.

Council funding has been reduced because of the way the Conservatives have run national government. Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster and has cost the country £100 billion a year. Investment has stagnated since the 2016 referendum and the brief Truss regime crashed the economy. Government scandals such as the one around PPE procuremnent wasted vast sums.

Record inflation hits council purchases and higher interest rates increase the cost of servicing debt. Warrington is lowly funded, and MPs of both colours are guilty of not achieving higher settlements in the past to increase our baseline. Recruitment and retention of staff is an increasing issue for not just care workers, but for some other professionals too. The final pay award for our employees once agreed, could have a major impact on the budget.

Despite excellent work by officers, our Levelling Up bids failed. Prosperous councils in the south did well and the only constituency in the north to get grants in both Rounds was the Prime Minister's. Even Michael Gove admits the whole Council Tax system is not satisfactory with valuations thirty years old and some allocation formulae based on 1988 data. The Fair Funding and Business Rates reviews have been pushed to beyond the General Election. Funding for social care is a massive problem and the Government has failed to fulfil its promise for reform. This impacts on the NHS through insufficient funding to stop people entering hospital and a shortage for care after hospital, causing bed blocking.

We broadly support the Council's policy of investing in solar farms, housing and regeneration but we would not have invested in a bank and an energy company. We are uneasy about investments in out-of-Borough properties. The Government has commissioned a report to look at the way our investments are governed but most of the other Councils they are investigating are run by Conservatives. Local Tories don't like the Council's investments but never tell us what services they would chop instead. However, it surprises us that our Labour run Council invests in companies connected with major donors to the Conservative Party.

The Budget contains welcome references to the Climate Emergency, but more is needed for air quality monitors. There would be benefits in closer working with parish and town councils. The review of the use of consultants is welcome. What happened to the trial of a new machine for speedy pothole repairs? We need another machine for cleaning out gullies. Out of town placements for children in need are expensive and being away from home is not good. Why don't we have direct debits for green bin payments? How is the Western Link to be funded? Will the Travellers' Transit Site ever be established?