Just A Little Loose Change
Within 24 hours of presenting their budget, the LibDem Council in Sutton have had to find another
I Spend Therefore I Am
A passionate debate took place at last night’s meeting of Sutton’s Full Council as the Liberal Democrat finance boss commended his budget to councillors for the financial year 2009/10, with an above average council tax increase of 2.9%.
I’ve included a few highlights below. Bizarrely, the points were met with speeches on John Major, Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson, the state of the railways in 1919 and the benefit of exercise for over-50s. Far be it for me to say that the LibDem administration are losing their way, but I suspect the 180,000 Sutton residents who rarely set foot in the Civic Offices have more pressing matters when looking at how their representatives are doing with their cash.
Opposition Finance spokesman, Councillor Tim Crowley, who spearheaded the Conservatives’ attack, levelled the charges that Sutton’s LibDem town hall leadership is: –
- Failing to make life easier for residents in a time of financial hardship with a council tax freeze – fully costed and easily achievable.
- Ignoring an overwhelming response from the Conservatives’ alternative budget consultation (1200+ responses) which shows that 93% of residents believe council tax should be frozen (http://www.freezethetax.org.uk/)
- Perilously pressing ahead with the controversial £8million pet project, the ‘Sutton Life Centre’ – an unaffordable and high-risk project, in a dire financial time.
- Betraying all the residents of the Borough who voted for the LibDems because of the Council leadership’s slavish pursuit of Labour Government targets, ahead of the needs and at the expense of local residents. In short: vote LibDem, get Labour.
- Ideologically incapable of lowering the tax burden on Sutton’s residents because local LibDems define themselves through the high expenditure of public money.
- Pleading poverty when, behind the spin, the LibDem Council is hoarding nearly £12million of taxpayers’ cash in a ‘war chest’ to fund controversial pet projects.
- Controversially raiding the schools budgets by £1.3million and ‘siphoning’ £3.6million from adult social services into these pet projects – when this money should be ring-fenced for the services that they were intended for.
- Irresponsibly taking money away from maintenance budgets for the upkeep of council-owned properties to the tune of £2million.
Councillor Tim Crowley commented on the budget by saying: –
“Last night the LibDems voted to inflict yet another above average council tax hike on residents. But the difference this year is that we’re in the worst recession in many years. The Lib Dems’ answer is to press ahead with the controversial £8million Sutton Life Centre without asking residents, by raiding other budgets to build it, and without knowing how they’ll afford to keep it open. In this budget, all roads lead to the Life Centre
“We issued a compassionate plea to the LibDem leadership to help residents by freezing the tax. Regardless of their spin, this was entirely achievable through large windfalls received by this Council.”
Councillor Paul Scully, Leader of the Conservative Opposition, added: –
“Sutton’s LibDem Council has lived up to its reputation for an epic refusal to listen to local taxpayers, by failing to freeze the tax burden when most needed.
“They seem totally incapable of reducing their burden on local peoples’ pockets and frighteningly quick to throw money at controversial pet projects. This is made worse as we face a deepening recession. Now is the time for the LibDem Council to employ thrift, not to be a spendthrift.”
– Speech Summary –
Councillor Tim Crowley made the following points in his speech: –
On addressing the concerns of the recession and its impact on Sutton:
“As an outer London Borough many of our residents commute to London and have jobs in either the financial industry, or are employed in support services to that sector. These people’s futures are under an ever darkening cloud.”
On criticising the Lib Dem Council’s ‘get out clause’ of a poor settlement from Government:
“Every time Councillor Drage stands up and discusses all local matters financial he refers to the fact that we are a floor authority with one of the lowest grant settlements in London.
“This is Councillor Drage’s “get-out clause” for anything that this administration says it can not do. But let’s remember that the 3 year grant settlement secured last year was actually higher than the council was expecting.”
On Lib Dem finance boss Councillor Drage’s magic act:
“Like David Copperfield – famous for making large objects like tanks and the Statue of Liberty disappear – Councillor Drage is performing the equally impressive feat of making a mountain of taxpayers’ money vanish into thin air.”
On freezing the council tax via windfalls from a VAT refund and the Freedom Pass:
“Let’s look at the other areas where you have had money in that you weren’t expecting – The 2 windfalls as laid out in the tabled report: –
· £1.3 million from a VAT refund going back to 1975 and
· £1 million from a refund from the Freedom Pass, London’s concessionary fare scheme.
“This equates to £2.3 million which would have enabled you to freeze the council tax without affecting overall long term budgets. This is money which the taxpayers have paid out once, why should they not get it back?
“This LibDem Council has had a stroke of good luck with the millions it has received via windfalls, it should now pass this good luck on to taxpayers who are currently suffering bad luck in this recession.”
On Sutton Council’s £5.5million frozen investment in Heritable Bank, subsidiary of Landsbanki:
“Then we have the big one…the £1.5million that is having to be set aside to cover potential losses arising from the freezing of £5.5million of assets that are frozen in an Icelandic bank account.
“We have had a debate and an inquiry about how and why this took place. But the fact remains it did take place and it has happened on your watch with a possible large cost to the Sutton taxpayer.”
On the LibDems’ betrayal of residents by “slavish” relationship with the Labour Government:
“The final major issue that lies at the heart of the LibDem approach to public finance, and this budget, is your relationship with central government and your slavish pursuit of central government targets, ahead of the needs and at the expense of local residents and taxpayers.
“When a council is elected then the least that the voters expect is that you will, as an administration, fight for their needs, ahead of the Mandarins of Whitehall. It really is vote LibDem, get Labour.”
Council Pulls A Fast One Over £8m Pet Project
Sutton’s Liberal Democrat town hall bosses pushed through planning permission for the controversial £8million ‘Sutton Life Centre’ last week, following two planning committee meetings. Conservatives have raised severe concerns about the planning suitability of the ‘pet project’ as well as the cost, which has been labelled a “financial minefield”. Approval came at a second hearing after an initial attempt to ram it through late at night at the end of the first meeting.
At the meeting of the Development Control Committee, Conservative councillors questioned the suitability of building the Life Centre adjacent to Sutton Cemetery and Crematorium; the impact on traffic and congestion in the local area; the environmental impact of upwards of 1000 coaches coming to the area; the inconsistent number of visitors due to come to the Centre; and the inevitable noise and light pollution which will emanate from the site, causing disruption to local residents.
Committee member Councillor Tony Shields raised concerns about the climbing wall and the flood lighting which will accompany it. He also highlighted the controversy surrounding the disputed figures for visitor numbers to the Life Centre. A briefing sent to councillors in January stating that the Centre is expected to receive 40,000 visitors per year, a figure echoed in the 1997 feasibility study for the project. In contrast, the projected visitor numbers presented to the committee suggested only 21,000 visitors.
Scant notice was paid to the section of the report which explained that the Life Centre would be available to the public for private hire in the evenings and the problems in Alcorn Close, Barrington Road, Sherborne Road and Thompson Close which will follow.
Conservative Deputy Leader Tony Shields commented: “The Lib Dem-run Council has practically done nothing to consult local people. Additional and unacceptable pressures will be placed on local residents’ parking. Approximately 1000 coach loads of visitors from all round the South East certainly isn’t very green, is it?
“No one has asked for this controversial £8million pet project. The fact is even it’s major Lib Dem supporters have called this project ‘high risk’. They’re shoving Sutton into a financial minefield in a time of economic crisis. It’s now obvious that they haven’t got a clue how many people are going to visit the Centre. The project has been granted permission based on 21,000 visitors but they’re going to need 40,000 to keep it open – doubling the impact on the local area.”
Councillor Shields concluded: “Lib Dem town hall bosses must halt this scheme now, while they still can.”
Channel 4 Exposes Sutton’s Icelandic Failings
Sutton Guardian reports that Sutton Council were one of only three councils that continued to sink deposits into an Icelandic bank when 72 other local authorities had stopped risking taxpayers’ money.
A Channel 4 documentary has obtained information under the Freedom of Information Act that shows which Councils ignored a credit warning made as early as February last year. As we know, Sutton went right up to the wire on this matter, putting millions of pounds into Heritable Bank, the day before its parent company Landsbanki went into administration.
Cllr Tim Crowley, Conservative Finance Spokesman told the Guardian “We know that Sutton was lumping taxpayers’ cash into the Icelandic Bank ‘Heritable’ right up until the eleventh hour when their whole house of cards banking system collapsed. As the Opposition Conservative Group we’ve consistently highlighted this as a cause for deep concern because it appears that the Lib Dem finance chief was asleep on the job, despite often reminding us he’s a former Bank of England Economist.
“Finance bosses from councils up and down Britain saw the vulnerability of Icelandic investments, but Sutton didn’t until it was too late. They Lib Dem council leadership has even been blasted by their own finance spokesmen in parliament, Vince Cable and Lord Oakeshott. As the Opposition we’ll do whatever we can to get the money back, but we’re dismayed that even with £5.5million in limbo the Lib Dems are still ploughing ahead with the £8.6million ‘Sutton Life Centre’ and have refused to implement our proposed 0% increase in council tax.”
Meanwhile the man with the chequebook, LibDem Lead Councillor John Drage said “An independent review found that the way we invested money was in line with best practice in local government.”
Says it all really!
A Hatchet Job on the Latest Focus
Leader of the Council Sean Brennan is pictured with Cllr Graham Tope in a LibDem newsletter which attempts to justify one of the highest Council Tax increases in London.
Firstly the obvious. Conservative proposals to freeze council tax come as the Council receives £2.3m of unexpected income from HM Revenue and Customs in the form of a VAT rebate dating back to the seventies and from other London Boroughs through changes to the way the Freedom Pass is funded. This money should be handed back to residents. The LibDems are dipping into the reserves themselves. Not to help residents in difficult times, but to build a pet project, the Sutton Life Centre, which no-one in the Borough has asked for. They have provided no detail in how they can afford to keep the place open when it is built next year, thus runnning the risk of creating a millstone around the neck of local people. They are spending £8m on this. Half is coming from a grant, the other half straight from council reserves.
Secondly a quick observation. The fact that Cllr Tope is taking an axe to paper says a lot. There will be a perfectly good pair of scissors in Cllr Brennan’s office in the background, which will be more effective and cheaper. A quick glance at the Council accounts demonstrates that this is an approach that is not just limited to their paper cutting weapon of choice.
I’ve also been supplied with an alternative caption for the photo “Cllr Tope explains the consequences of refusing to pay one of the highest Council Tax increase in London.” Any other captions, comment below.