Kirklees Budget 2019 – Cllr Pandor's Speech to Council

This is Cllr Shabir Pandor’s speech as Leader of the Council:

Madam Mayor, Council; I am proud to be able to present this budget to you today.

This is a budget that protects the vulnerable, invests in our young people and rejuvenates our infrastructure.

This is a budget that signals a change of course for our citizens – one that sends not just a message of hope, but real, practical steps to improve the lives of people across Kirklees.

 We can do this because of the solid foundations we have built over the past two years:

We’ve delivered savings

We’ve protected the reserves 

We’ve lived within our means

Let me be clear why we’ve had to live within our means; why we have had to make substantial savings.

Local government has come under sustained attack from this Government and the previous Tory-led coalition. 

We have lost 60 p in every one pound of funding over the past decade.

It is a fact that those councils with the highest levels of deprivation have been hit the hardest by national funding changes.

Don’t take my word for it; these are the words of Lord Porter, the Conservative chair of the Local Government Association – and I quote –

“The money local government has to provide vital services is running out fast, and huge uncertainty remains about how councils will pay for services into the next decade and beyond.

“If the government fails to adequately fund local government then it will be our local communities and economies who will suffer the consequences.

“It will be those who rely on vital adult social care to live independent lives, rural bus routes to get out and about, council tax support to ease financial burdens, and those who value clean streets, green spaces and roads.

“The Spending Review will be make or break for vital local services and securing the financial sustainability of councils must be the top priority.”

That’s the Conservative chair of the LGA.

Austerity is a political choice, and thousands of Kirklees residents have suffered, as a result.  This Labour administration will challenge that, head on.

We have listened to and worked with our communities to understand their priorities.

We have examined every budget line and stretched every pound left available to us.

But austerity has had a devastating effect on key public services that provide protection to the most vulnerable members of our society – children at risk, disabled adults and older people who require support, and the many families who are barely getting by despite being in work.

That’s why we’ve worked hard on this budget to change that narrative of despair, not with false promises, but with practical steps – sometimes small steps – that will begin, within weeks, to improve the lives of many of our residents.

This Council remains one of the lowest funded Councils; second lowest of the 36 metropolitan authorities and in the lower quartile nationally.

The combined impact of national funding reductions and service pressures on the Council has resulted in a cumulative revenue savings requirement of £199m over the 2010-2019 period.

As noted in the Budget Report, the forecast budget gap, by 2020, could be anywhere between £6 million and £46 million, based on current, best estimates.

Existing Council budget plans for 2018-20 included planned savings of £16.2 million in 2018-19 and a further £13.2 million in 2019-20.

But these savings cannot, WILL NOT, fall on the most vulnerable.

The Council’s current Corporate Plan 2018-20 acknowledges the scale of financial challenges to date, and the tough decisions that have had to be taken to balance the books while protecting frontline services and our most vulnerable residents.

Let’s remind ourselves of that plan’s vision: 

“a district which combines a strong, sustainable economy with a great quality of life – leading to thriving communities, growing businesses, high prosperity and low inequality where people enjoy better health throughout their lives.”  

It also recognises that to support this approach, it has also required the development of a different type of organisation with new and innovative ways of doing things; changing the way that we work with communities, keeping vulnerable people safe and in control of their own lives, and focusing on the things that only the Council can do.

Let me go into some detail, in terms of the timescale and priorities.

This is a budget for one year.  But it is no less ambitious for that. Ambitious for growth – building our council tax base and business rates. Let me explain why one year:

These are uncertain times and not just because of the chaos of Brexit.

There is uncertainty about the content of the Spending Review - even within the Prime Minister’s Cabinet!

It would be fiscally foolish to create a longer-term budget when we have a government and a prime minister that is in office but not in power.

So, we have shored up our financial position, but -let’s be honest - at the expense of investment in the borough.

The budget includes a suggested 2.99 per cent increase in council tax (excluding fire, police and parish council precepts), which would allow a further £5.2 million of investment.

Investment that:

Protects the vulnerable, creating the best services we can for older people, especially those living with dementia and/or coping with disabilities; this includes investment of £1.9 million to support mental health service provision – plus £400,000 for measures to tackles domestic abuse.

Investment that strengthens our commitment to children and young people; putting money into high needs, children’s improvement, youth provision and play areas; an investment of £6 million revenue and £45 million capital.

This is an investment that will rejuvenate our infrastructure. We can all see, after nearly a decade of austerity, that our infrastructure needs attention. That’s why we’re beginning a programme of investment in our roads system.

But we also need to revitalise the places where people live and work, and not just our major towns, but our smaller towns and villages too; that’s why, today, I can announce a total investment of around £210 million.

Madam Mayor. These are challenging times for those of us who work in local government, whether as elected members or officers.

But those challenges are as nothing compared to the hurdles faced by too many of our fellow citizens.

I will not shirk my duty to deliver a budget that lives within its means. But my administration has been clear to the officers of the council, that we must now rebuild and rejuvenate our communities.

This is a year of ambition for Kirklees; its people, place and partners.

Madam Mayor: Let’s show our citizens, through our deeds and actions, that this Labour majority administration in Kirklees will begin a period of renewal.

I commend this Budget to this Council and to the good people of Kirklees