24/02/09 - Council Tax Setting Meeting Report

Council Tax in Swindon will increase by an average of 3.5% for the 2009/10 financial year, after the Conservatives successfully delivered a prudent budget in the face of Labour's recession. 

The budget was opposed by the Labour & Lib Dem councillors, whose amendments failed to add up and were all voted down at the full council meeting.

Conservatives have again delivered a Council Tax in line with inflation, in stark contrast to Labour's wallet-busting 42% hike in just three years before they were booted out of power on Swindon Borough Council.

The Conservatives are making a real difference on Swindon Council, see below for the figures. Year Party In Control Council Tax Increase Council Rating (Old System) Council Rating (New System) 2002 Labour 8.5% N/A N/A 2003 Labour 15.5% Poor 0 Stars 2004 Labour 15.5% Poor 0 Stars 2005 Conservative 3% Weak 1 Star 2006 Conservative 4.8% Fair 2 Stars 2007 Conservative 3.4% Fair-Improving 2 Stars 2008 Conservative 3.5% Fair-Improving 2 Stars 2009 Conservative 3.5%

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Cllr Mark Edwards, Lead Member Resources Budget Speech 23 March 2009

Swindon Borough Council

Thank you Mr Mayor for giving me the opportunity to present the budget for the forthcoming financial year to the council chamber.

The Conservative administration, under the leadership first of Mike Bawden and now Rod Bluh, addressed the poor performance of the erstwhile Labour leadership we replaced.  This budget will allow the administration to continue delivering its transformational strategy for Swindon and provide a platform for continued, sustainable improvement as we move forward.  And it can be delivered for an affordable 3.5% Council Tax increase.

Whilst doing this we also must make our books balance – simply put we must make sure that our expenditure is in line with our income. 

This rule, of course, does not apply to the Labour Government that has run up a staggering 78 billion pound overspend in the last financial year. 

By the way, we are on track to come in just under budget for 2008/09!

This is also a Labour Government that persists in defining under-funded mandates to local councils such as the failure to appropriately fund concessionary bus fares

Decisions like these affect what we can deliver as an authority in Swindon. 

There is no doubt in my mind that these issues are further impacted by the poor grant settlement which Swindon receives.    We are told this low-funding is because Swindon is not as deprived as some councils in the north. 

Maybe, maybe not, but we represent Swindon, not them. 

To make things easier for those who rarely leave the borough, let us take Milton Keynes, a council with whom we are often compared.  We have 55% more of the most deprived districts, but we received 26% less funding than Milton Keynes.  We need MPs who represent the borough, not Whitehall.

We now must face the prospect of the ever deepening national recession that will directly impact this council and the residents of Swindon.

I would like to take some time to remind this chamber where this council was when this Conservative administration was elected. 

We were ranked one of the worst 12 councils in England.

Our management of education was so poor that we are stripped of our duties as local education authority

Over three years, the Labour administration delivered a budget busting 42% increase in council tax.

This borough is now under the administration of the Conservatives.  Since taking control we stand on our record of action:

We are now ranked 3rd out of 47 unitary councils for value for money

We are ranked 6^th out of 47 unitaries in terms of overall performance

We have re-gained our full education responsibilities as a unitary

We built a new central library on time and on budget

We rebuilt the Cavendish Square library, our fourth new library since forming the administration.

We introduced kerbside recycling and secured 47% recycling rates.

And, the journey does not stop there – there is the promise of more.

We are determined to deliver on the Town Centre and I am delighted at the prospect of over £500 million investment, extending the vision of this administration beyond its bricks and mortar into an exiting opportunity for all.

We are investing in care for the elderly and better care facilities such as Maple Court.

We will continue on our journey to provide a library service for the 21^st century, with more optionality, more users and more benefits for residents. 

Unlike the Labour Government, we understand that the money we spend is not the council’s money, it is the hard-pressed local tax payers’ cash.  We need to make sure that money is spent wisely and appropriately. 

To the budget itself.

In common with the vast majority of organisations, our finances are not immune from the current national economic slowdown. 

We are facing a £2.2 million loss of income; including loss of commercial rental income, loss of land charges income, loss of planning and building control fee income, reduction in the sale price of recyclable materials and reduction in income from interest rates.

We differ from most other authorities in the rate of housing and population growth, which is far higher in Swindon than in almost any other area in England.  This means we have more to lose during this recession. 

There are a number of other income budgets that, based on past experience, are likely to be adversely affected by the economic downturn.  These include Council Tax collection rates, Client income for social care services, income from leisure facilities and car parking fees.

Rising unemployment inevitably leads to a requirement to process more benefit claims and other requests for council services.

Despite the adverse impact on Swindon’s finances, we have not only found efficiency savings, of over £8m, to cover the costs of the economic downturn, but many millions more.  And these are real savings, not savage, populist, but reckless cuts.  Delivering a low, affordable council tax in this tough national economic crisis is a real challenge.  Along with our officers, we have risen to the task and demonstrated to the residents our commitment and ingenuity to move the borough forwards.

To manage risks moving forward we have increased our level of contingency in the budget to £1.5 million to reflect the uncertain future. 

It is in the end all about balance.

We are delivering a sustainable budget with over 190 lines of proposals. Despite the modest, 3.5% increase in council tax the proposed budget will result in, and the promise of an exiting and vibrant new future for this borough we have had to make some tough choices.

The GroundwellPark and Ride site is financially unsustainable. Given the relatively small uptake in use of this facility the residents of Swindon are subsidising this facility by hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. 

We have met with the SPARK campaign; we have pursued every option we can think have including shorter hours, pay on exit, better promotion. We are now consulting on higher prices, but if that does not prove possible, the site will have to be mothballed to deliver the saving we need.

Whilst I am conscious that this will make the journey to work more complex for some, I am also minded of the many thousands of people in our borough, who no longer have jobs, or who’s jobs have been put “on hold” for many months.   It’s all about priorities.

Let’s take Swindon Dance - since 2005 it has been made clear that they needs to be a separate trust and will need raise money from other sources than the council. In these tough economic times we have to make difficult choices – reducing the funding in line with our previously stated intention to do so is one of them. 

I hope that by working together we can find innovative ways to allow this organisation to sustain itself financially moving forward. 

Let’s move to libraries - our goal is to provide a 21^st century library service.  This will mean changes to the way we currently do things.

Keeping small, rarely open, under utilised facilities does not make practical or economic sense and we have to find an innovative ways to expand the library service to all residents whilst being minded of the huge financial pressures this council faces moving forward. 

I hope the consultation defines these opportunities and allows the borough to drive forward a modern and innovative library service, in line with the aspirations of this administration.

Lastly, we are going to consult about residents parking charges. 

This scheme is not self-financing.

Even with an increase in charges of £15 as proposed the subsidy payable by all residents will only be reduced, not eliminated. 

Whilst I regret having to make any decisions that directly affect some residents, I am minded of the fact that we are working not just for today, and not just for us, but for the future of all Swindon.

As an administration, we are determined to deliver on the long term sustainability of this borough and provide an exiting new vision for all.  This budget allows us to continue on this journey.

I have been in this role a few short weeks and in delivering this budget I would like to acknowledge the incredible effort and work put in by my predecessor Cllr Nick Martin.

In addition, the leadership and vision shared by Cllr Bluh and Gavin Jones will allow Swindon to drive the transformational change this council requires to ensure the sustainability of this borough.

My thanks to them, my fellow cabinet members, backbenchers and of course to the officers of this council who have worked tirelessly in support of delivering this budget.

We have delivered a budget proposal, with a 3.5% increase, that will serve the people of Swindon and in this time of national economic crisis, that is some achievement. 

I would like my appreciation to be minuted and I commend this budget to the Chamber.