Blackpool Liberal Democrats

Blackpool Council Budget Response from Cllr. Doug Green

We have before us Blackpool Council's budget, for 2010-11, for what could well be the last time, in its present form.

Since they were returned to power in Blackpool, the Conservative party has presented two budgets. Both of these budgets have just scraped in below the thresholds for capping, set by a Labour Government.

The Council Tax National average set by English Council's is 2.8%. With some Councils reporting zero increases.

Blackpool Council has announced 3.45%. It is anticipated that this will bring in to the Council's coffers an additional £2.1 million with a total collection of £60 million.

We all know that Blackpool Council's budget is under pressure from a number of sources including:

1. The £1.9 million additional expenditure in the Social Services Budget. But then so are many other Councils in the UK.

2. The required investment in recycling at a cost of £3.2 million.

By the way, where has the Tory plan to re-introduce weekly bin collections gone? That has saved us £1 million.

However:

1. The negotiating stance by the English Councils is for a zero increase wages for 2010/11.

2. So with a higher than expected settlement from the Formula Grant at £81.8 you would have expected a fairly easy budget from this council.

3. Not so. The total budget for Blackpool for 2010/11 including Capital expenditure is about £500 million. That is half a billion pounds. A very large budget. Few, if any, businesses in the town have a budget that big.

So if the amounts raised by this Council tax is £60 million and we probably raise just over £30 million or so in parking charges and other services. This leaves about £410 million which comes from Central Government in one form or another.

That is 82% of our budget that comes in the Formula Grant monies; Ring fenced budgets such as Education; Approved lending for our Capital & Re-generation programmes; and other separately financed operations.

Now we are faced with the threat that if a newly elected Central Government is committed to cut their expenditure, where will it fall?

They all ready said it will not be the NHS - too politically sensitive.

They do not want to cut defence budget - when we are stretched in Afghanistan.

So what will be a nice soft target for Whitehall?

Local Government. However if the Government, any Government, decides to cut Local Government finance, what will happen?

Well let us do the maths.

A 3.5% increase in the Council Tax budget of £60 million increases the income of this Council by £2.1 million.

Just a 1% decrease in the amount of monies we receive from central Government funding of £420 million is £4.2 million.

That is twice the amount we are allowed to raise in this budget.

So Blackpool is particularly venerable to the prospect of any Central Government cuts. So what have we done to plan for reductions in finance?

1. Blackpool Council has just signed up to a PFI to replace all our street lights for 25 years. Well of course some of them are well past their sell by date. Most perhaps need replacing, but all of them? And if you can introduce new low energy LED lighting that will save a few bob, but couldn't it be on a rolling programme? But not a PFI - why would financial institutions invest in PFIs unless they were going to make them a fortune. For Council's it will be question of short term Gain for Long term pain. We all know the problems we will have with scheme:

a. Residents seeing street lights that are fine being ripped up.

b. The contractors will start a rolling program that will cause havoc to the traffic flow in the town.

c. By the time we have paid for the new lights over 25 years, it will be time to start again.

2. Blackpool Council is negotiating to the purchase of the Tower & Winter Gardens Complex. However, "But we cannot tell us anything about the deal or how much it will cost"

a. Commercially sensitive you know. Rubbish. We as Councillors need to know, we are required to know, our residents expect us to know the details of this deal.

b. All got to be signed up before the 31 March. Why? Afraid a new Government will not approve the deal? How can councillors begin to subject this to due diligence?

c. We are told that the Council will be able to obtain heritage funding unavailable to private companies. I don't buy that one either.

d. Why should we believe that Blackpool Council can be expected to make a better profit out of a project that the previous private enterprise owner failed on?

e. The moneys paid by this Council to the previous owners, were to help improve the property. Now the money from the conferences has finished he wants to sell it. Well surprise, surprise.

Building Schools for the future?

A new college Blackpool?

More re-generation for the town?

They are likely to be pipe dreams, if a new Government comes in with a slash and burn policy for Local Council's budgets.

Unless there is a wholesale change in the way that Local Government is funded, we are always going to be a pawn of Central Government. Be it a regionally based Income tax, or Sales tax, or Property & Capital tax or a mixture of these and others, we cannot go on being hostage to fortune forever.

But if any party which promises to cut taxation & budgets gets elected.

Well Blackpool Council might be up the proverbial stream without a paddle.