Warrington Lib Dem News
Lib Dems criticise Labour's budget cuts and offer solutions including roll out of One Hour Free Parking across Borough
As the official opposition, we have been rigorously scrutinising proposals behind drastic budget cuts since being given access to them in the last seven days. Despite the Labour Government's pledge to provide councils with multi-year funding settlements for financial stability, Warrington's government grant has seen a negligible increase from £36 million last year to just £36.5 million this year. This is in stark contrast with grants received by neighbouring councils including St Helens, with 13% fewer residents but higher levels of deprivation, which saw its grant increase from £74.1 million to £77.5 million.
Moreover, there are significant differences in the Council Tax burden borne by households across local councils. When questioned about efforts to secure more government support through closer alignment of funding, the Council's response was a resounding 'no'. Instead of seeking the necessary support, the Labour administration chose to balance the budget by slashing £30.5 million in services. This decision avoided the scrutiny that would come with a government review of the Council's budget, highlighting a concerning lack of transparency and accountability.
Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Mark Browne summarised the situation: “We recognize that these are challenging times for all councils. While we support many of the efficiencies identified by the officers, it is concerning that Labour has not consulted with us, leaving us in the dark about many of the details behind the proposed cuts. The lack of consultation places full responsibility on the Labour leadership. Given the brief time for us to consider the proposals there are areas where we are seeking further information to assess their impact. However, in the last seven days, since we were given sight of these proposals, we have collaborated proactively with officers to develop alternative solutions to issues of great importance to our residents, which retain the balanced budget, and we are hopeful that our proposals will be accepted.”
Cllr Bob Hignett remarked: "It's understandably challenging for a Labour council to seek assistance from the Labour Government. However, what we urgently need is a fair and sustainable funding arrangement for local councils.”
The budget does rely on reserves to achieve balance, but as Cllr Luke Stuttard highlighted: “The officers have identified numerous significant savings within the budget. Notably, they have successfully reduced the council’s energy bills by £2 million and cut interest and other loan costs by £6.5 million. These are large and genuine savings, which we applaud. It is the cuts to services that concern us most and we owe it to our residents to explore alternatives before the budget is finalised.”
Cllr Helen Speed added: “While there are many commendable savings, some proposed cuts raise serious concerns. For instance, there are plans to stop pumping water to maintain the Sankey Canal, yet no impact assessment has been conducted. Reducing resources for environmental protection can only harm the wildlife and biodiversity and we simply haven't been provided with enough information about these cuts to determine their safety.”
Cllr Graham Gowland flagged the changes to car parking provision: “Lymm and Stockton Heath are the only district car parks where free council parking will be removed. The negative impact on the local economies could be over £4 million, with only a slight increase in council parking revenue. We believe all district car parks should keep a free hour, but after that, council car parks should all charge. It helps manage parking and would help to balance the budget.”
The budget includes plans to close the only recycling centre in the south of the town. Cllr Judith Wheeler expressed grave concerns, stating: “While we acknowledge that the Stockton Heath centre is not ideal, closing it without a planned replacement will lead to significant and far-reaching problems. This decision will inevitability result in increased fly-tipping, which will blight our community and create additional clean-up costs. Moreover, the town's recycling rates will plummet, undermining our environmental efforts and sustainability goals. The closure also jeopardizes the future establishment of a nearby recycling facility when we set up a devolved authority with the Cheshire local authorities, leaving residents without convenient access to essential recycling services.”
The budget also includes the closure of one library and the removal of all staff at 2-4 libraries. Cllr Sharon Harris expressed her concerns, stating: "While we understand that one library is set to close due to external factors, expecting volunteers to suddenly step in and run four libraries in the town is simply unrealistic and absurd. This plan overlooks the essential role that trained staff play in maintaining library services and supporting our community."
The budget will come before the Council on the 24th of February.
