Warwickshire County Council has now set its budget, after Councillors initially failed to reach an agreement on 5 February. Councillor Adrian Warwick, Group Leader for the Conservative Group, had called on the Council to adjourn to wait for clarity on the Local Government Finance Settlement. This decision was vindicated by a more generous settlement than was originally put forward by central government.
The Government’s new-found generosity with taxpayer funds may have to do with the recent decision to go ahead with elections after they faced a legal challenge.
After Reform initially sought a 3.89% rise which risked leaving Warwickshire County Council in financial difficulty, the Conservatives were able to negotiate and agree a final figure of 4.44%. Most of the additional money provided from the taxpayer via central Government will go into maintaining fiscal headroom and sufficient funds to cope with unknown future pressures at 1% of net revenue, and the Conservatives are confident that the final figure Council Tax rate rise strikes the right balance between protecting services and reducing the impact on taxpayers.
It was essential that the Conservatives act in the broader interest of the people of Warwickshire to strike a balance between the Reform position seeking an unsustainably low council tax increase, and the desire of the Liberal Democrats to spend more of other people’s money than necessary in order to serve their gesture politics.
Conservatives like to cut tax, but we understand that cutting tax must be done in a responsible way if it is to be sustained. The Conservative Group at Warwickshire County Council examined Reform’s initial proposals closely and it was clear that it would have been extremely difficult to responsibly reduce the local tax burden in the way initially proposed, given the pressures on keys services like adult and children’s social care.
On the other hand, the Liberal Democrats were clear that they do not wish the County Council to be ‘low spend’, and were chiefly concerned with maintaining the tax base at as high a rate as possible. The Liberal Democrats had hoped to fund their priorities by leaving insufficient funds to cope with future pressures, such as rising social care costs, and by raiding the capital investment fund.
Importantly, the Conservatives have protected funds for youth services, the pre-school autism diagnostic service and domestic abuse prevention. They have ensured a million pounds more is available in reserves, so that increasing demands on crucial Council services can be met. They have also secured a grant fund for rural communities in the wake of the collapse of Warwickshire Rural Community Council, and money to combat potholes through a more rigorous gully cleaning regime. The Conservatives also secured agreement that funding for an upgrade to Stockton Crossroads would be included in the Capital Investment Fund as a priority.
Cllr Adrian Warwick commented:
“I called for the decision on the budget to be deferred until 17 February on the basis that we would have more certainty about Warwickshire’s finances from the Local Government Settlement, and we have been vindicated. I am pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement that protects Council services while only taking what is necessary from taxpayers, who are already hard pressed under pressure from this disastrous Labour Government. It stands in stark contrast to the proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrats and Greens.”
Cllr Chris Kettle commented:
“Fiscal responsibility seems to be the sole preserve of the Conservatives, and we have today protected existing services by allocating an additional £1 million more than the Liberal Democrats and Greens to protect social care services, who prize short term political expediency over fiscal prudence. We are grateful that Reform are now taking a more pragmatic view over reserves and the provision for unknown pressures and have continued to compromise. We have protected funding for domestic abuse services, pre-school autism diagnosis, and youth services. We have secured important new funding for the key priorities of the public: action to prevent surface water flooding on our roads, reducing potholes and keep Warwickshire’s working people moving.”
