Anger at job losses but no thaw for council tax

For the second year running, the Conservative-run council voted not to increase its share of the council tax bill, leaving householders in an average band D property paying £1,144.25 for services such as schools, social services, roads and landfill sites.

With a Conservative majority of nearly 20, both Labour and Liberal Democrat groups admitted they were unlikely to win concessions, but Liberal Democrats proposed saving £51,000 by cutting the number of Conservative cabinet committee members, scrapping “massively unpopular” charges for computers in libraries and giving each district £200,000 in a ‘your streets’ initiative for roads, footpaths and cycle schemes.

With public health back among county councils’ responsibilities, the Liberal Democrats also proposed investing £100,000 in promoting healthy lifestyles such as tackling child obesity.

Labour group leader Cllr June Tandy (Nuneaton Wem Brook) admitted her group had “minimal” options, attacking job cuts at the county council, which she said would result in the loss of “excellent, long-serving and experienced staff”.

Cllr Tandy said Labour would take £500,000 put into reserves by the Conservatives and invest it in the youth service. She said: “This is not the time for putting further money into reserves when unemployment for young people is at a record level.”

The Labour group pledged £1.86 million over three years to tackle high priority road safety schemes and also called for the number of cabinet members to be cut and spokespeople’s allowances abolished, saying councillors should take some of the pain.

Cllr Penny Bould (Lab, Leamington Brunswick) said the cuts were “too deep and too swift” and would result in job losses that the local economy could not recreate.

Conservatives claimed they had found savings in departments such as adult services without compromising quality and would be working with neighbouring authorities to save money. Cllr Chris Saint (Tredington) said more money would come from business rates and the Government’s ‘new homes bonus’ in future years.

Deputy leader Cllr Bob Stevens (Feldon) said the Government’s new academies would reduce costs, but warned the newly independent schools would not buy the council’s services unless it became more competitive. He said the county should make money by selling services as “Warwickshire PLC”, even charging HS2 for the council’s expertise if the scheme went ahead.

Cllr Colin Hayfield (Con, Arley) said he would stop computer charges in libraries if funds were available, adding: “We’re doing what we do to balance the budget but we are doing it with a heavy heart and we have to do it as fairly and rationally as we can. The simple fact is that local authorities are getting smaller and that’s set to continue.”