A Merseyside council is being "absolutely battered" by the Tory government, as cuts slice even deeper into its budget.
That is the view of Labour councillor Janette Williamson, Wirral Council’s cabinet member for finance, who railed against the £250m which has been cut from the authority’s central government funding since 2010, at a cabinet meeting this morning.
Cllr Williamson said: “We are being absolutely battered by this government and I’m sick to death of it. Our residents don’t deserve it and we’re doing everything we can to mitigate against it.”
She said this was particularly disappointing given the money the Conservatives have vowed to spend in their election manifesto, before turning to what the council needed to do to return to financial stability.
Cllr Williamson added: “Local authorities have to be funded on a sustainable footing. We need consistent funding from the government and a long-term plan.
“We are almost at the point where we’re having to make decisions that we just don’t want to make and it’s not good enough.”
In a plea to the Tory government, she said: “Up your game Conservatives and look at local authorities and give us some money, because this is not a desirable position to be in.”
Earlier this month, Wirral Council’s leader Cllr Pat Hackett, admitted the council is set for a £12m budget shortfall and was insistent that steps were being taken to get the deficit down.
To this effect, Cllr Williamson said the council has implemented a spending freeze, a recruitment freeze and is taking dedicated action to control spending in each area of its budget.
Cllr Williamson also made the point that the deficit is not purely the result of central government cuts to council funding.
The pressures on adult and children's social care also had an impact, as did the lower than expected savings from changes to the operation of the Floral Pavilion Theatre, New Brighton, and the council’s four municipal golf courses.
But Cllr Ian Lewis, leader of the Tories on Wirral Council, thought responsibility for the deficit lay with Labour-controlled Wirral Council itself.
Speaking on the issue earlier this month, he said: “Labour has been crying wolf for 10 years while continuing to waste money on senior salaries, management consultants and vanity projects.
“For 10 years, they have known the grant from the government was being phased out and replaced with Business Rates.
“Other councils have used that time to make the changes needed and to encourage new businesses to set up, to create the revenue the council needs.
“Wirral, instead, has wasted that time and squandered opportunities. Labour always runs out of other people’s money in the end.”
Wirral Council needs to address its budget shortfall by the end of the financial year in March, otherwise it will be forced to use its reserves, a step Cllr Williamson is strongly opposed to.
