Council Leader Alan Taylor's Budget Speech

Council Leader Alan Taylor

May I, first of all, thank Margaret Carney, Ruth Hunter and Paul Martin, and all the officers involved in producing these budget documents, and their assistance to us in producing our budget.   I am sure that both the Labour and Conservative Groups feel that they have also received the same professional, impartial assistance.  

Can I also place on record my appreciation of the work done by Councillor William Hobhouse, who put in a lot of work on these budget proposals when he was the Cabinet Member for Finance.   My main thanks are of course to Councillor Greg Couzens who has taken to the Finance portfolio like a duck to water, and I look forward to working with him on the preparation of next year’s 2009/10 budget.   

This is a forward thinking Liberal Democrat Budget.   We have pledged to keep Council Tax bills as low as possible, and to provide residents with the best value for money.   Our budget proposals, like last year, again propose the lowest Council Tax increase for over a decade, even lower than last year’s, but we are still improving services, and have many new initiatives and many areas of extra investment. 

I welcome the grant settlement from Government because it finally recognises the need within the Borough and corrects some major financial injustices in the past.   The Council has lobbied for these changes for many years.   There still remain a number of issues which currently adversely affect Local Authorities like Rochdale.   These include the lack of a Council Tax base revaluation, and the continued operation of a damping system which, despite the positive progress of this settlement continues to be too slow in removing resources from those Authorities that no longer need them.   It is essential that these issues are addressed in order that resources provided to Authorities like Rochdale better reflect their situation.   Despite some favourable progress our Council remains under funded due to the effect of historic funding decisions.   We hope that this new momentum will continue in order that the decisions of the past can be fully rectified in the future, and that we can look forward to funding at a justifiable level.   I had hoped to see a radical change in the way Local Government is financed through the Lyons Report last year.   Unfortunately the Government has ignored the Report and seems to have kicked it into the long grass.   The present system of Council Tax is unfair to people, and we still believe that a local income tax would be a much better solution, where many people on low incomes, including most pensioners, would not pay any tax at all.   

Our Liberal Democrat budget confirms our intention to achieve value for money, and efficiencies in Council services – not cuts but more and better.   A sustained plan of real efficiencies.   There will be additional investment of at least £6million over the next three years, money for our high priorities which will directly improve the quality of life for the people in our Borough.   With the Capital Budget resources of over £350million being identified for the next five year programme.   We will continue to look for more ways to maximise these resources.   This money will enable us to make massive investment in:

• Leisure facilities across the Borough.
• Replacement of all street lights under a private finance initiative scheme.
• Contribution to the building and refurbishment of schools.
• Investment in sustainable communities and affordable housing across the Borough.
• Resources necessary to support the redevelopment of Rochdale Town Centre and a new Joint Service Centres in each township.
• Additional money for disabled facilities grants, and to ensure private sector homes are kept in a decent state of repair.
• Finally, we will continue to provide £400,000  to townships for their key projects.

Next year, the Council will spend almost £300million a year providing services, and a further £100million of capital investment.   

• We will achieve real efficiencies of £3million with no  impact on service levels.
• We have relaxed £1million of savings from adult care, which will buy extra hours of home support while we develop the re-ablement service.
• A total additional investment in priority services is £2.8million, and there will be a further £2million in each of the next two years. 

Key budget successes are:

• The child care budget is under control.
• Significant savings from recycling. This has saved over £1million in the last two years.
• And a pressures fund of £2million in 2008/09 to support unforeseen budget issues during the year.   

Our new budget proposals include:

•  The cleaning of all road gullies in the Borough in the 12 month period.
• Last year, we doubled the devolved funding to Townships, and this year, we are doubling that again to £4 per head of population.
• We have provided extra funds to help support the democratic process in townships by providing support for Neighbourhood meetings, to get their decisions into the Council decision making process.   The details of this will be agreed by the Township Chairs.
• We are introducing day-time provision at the Springhill and Saxonside Resource Centres for older people with mental health problems.
• We are supporting the Rochdale Law Centre so that they can provide an additional caseworker to extend their advocacy provision across all office hours.
• We are enhancing the capacity of the Green Team to better deal with sustainability issues.
• There will be additional resources to support the delivery of the Tourism Strategy.    As well as our wonderful historic buildings we are the most rural Borough in Greater Manchester. We are putting additional investment into country footpaths.
• We are bringing the Economic Affairs Team into mainstream funding, rather than trying to find further additional funding, which will enable us to take a long term approach to increasing jobs and prosperity and by working with our partners to encourage them to deliver activities which will help maximise economic regeneration across the Borough.   We aim to transform the Borough and ensure all our citizens benefit from this change providing local jobs, regeneration and further economic development.
• Investment in Council Member development. We need to ensure Councillors have the right skills, abilities and understanding to play and effective role in providing leadership to our Council.   The actual programme will be tailored to meet individual needs, following a review and assessment of where development activity needs to be targeted.
• The Liberal Democrats are committed to improving the way we listen to the ideas of staff, Members and the public about the services the Council provides.   We aim to engage all people in helping us to make a difference.   The new Innovations Fund supports this by providing finance to help engagement, communicate changes and support development ideas.   It will also provide funding to implement these ideas, check on their success and spread learning and good practice.
• Stepping up is our programme to improve the way we operate and provide services, a key part of this is customer focus – how the public experience the Council and our services.   Providing this new investment will ensure the delivery of four projects, to improve customer focus, engagement and satisfaction and our reputation and communications, and in doing this, will show the importance we place on the public’s views.
• The Supporting People Programme will get additional one-year funding to implement the improvement programme “Excellence in Supporting People by 2010”.
• We will purchase an all purpose graffiti and chewing gum removal machine, which will also remove fly posters, weeds, algae, moss limescale, grime, bird droppings and weathering.
• Mechanical pedestrian sweepers which are modern one-man pavement sweepers, each one will also be provided with a brush and pan so that any awkward areas can be done by hand the old fashioned way.   If this new initiative is as successful as we have been promised, we won’t hesitate to introduce more machines to provide an even better service for street cleaning.
• We are providing finance for a spring clean in the Borough each year involving local communities and schools.
• We will also introduce a free recycling collection service for Charities.
• To try to reduce unsightly fly tipping, we have abolished the charge for collection of bulky items of waste from residential properties from April this year.
• We have provided a development fund to look at the options for a new Arts and Conference Centre in Rochdale Town Centre.
• There will be a series of planned leisure and cultural events and activities for older people during this coming year.
• We will provide £35,000 to each of the Borough’s cemeteries, and a similar amount for each of the two crematoria. This a much needed interim investment.
• There will be additional funding of £125,000 for the Youth Service, on top of the £250,000 that we introduced last year as an on-going commitment.   I understand that the Youth Service in the past year have met with over 25% of 13 to 19 year olds in the Borough.   This funding should improve that even more.
• We are providing £200,000 for what is called Young Offenders Payback. Young people who are now convicted of offences should pay back something to society.   Community Service is effective with adults but needs expert staffing to help youngsters.  This is what this new funding will help to provide.
• We will, for the first time ever, buy four additional Police Officers from Greater Manchester Police.   We know Police resources are stretched, so this money will enable Greater Manchester Police to employ an extra officer at Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Rochdale Police Stations.   These will be four additional officers that we wouldn’t otherwise have.
• Finally, a local short term Blue Badge scheme.   I understand this is the first scheme anywhere in the country, and it would enable local people with temporary disability the same rights as under the National scheme for permanently disabled people.   I know from personal experience how welcome this scheme will be.   You need to be put in the position of being temporarily disabled to really understand what this would mean.

Can I thank all my Cabinet colleagues for the hard work and dedication they’ve shown throughout the year and thank all Members of my Group for the support we’ve received from them.   

I see again tonight the Labour/Conservative coalition is indulging itself in the luxury of Opposition with what they see as headline grabbing alterations to a carefully thought out budget.   This is the lowest Council Tax rise for over a decade and yet we are still improving services. 

And again I say to our Council Tax payers, so long as there is a Liberal Democrat Council in the Borough, you will be assured that we will always aim to run this Council efficiently.   We will never forget that it’s your money we are spending, and we have a duty to spend it carefully. 

Mr Mayor, I am proud to move this budget.