Leader of the Council's Budget speech— 18th  February 2003

 It is my duty as  Chairman of the Executive of this council to present and propose the budget today.  This is a budget which was unanimously agreed by the Executive a week ago on 11 February.  I believe the anger and bitterness which I feel is shared by all my colleagues on that Executive.  We are united in our belief that it is extremely unfair to ask the people of Devon , who receive low wages, have expensive mortgages, or dwindling pensions and investments to have to pay 17.95% increase on what is already a high Council Tax. 

Council Tax has now become the ‘mother of all stealth taxes’  and it is time that both Government and Local Government could devise a fairer system of funding local services. A system which is based essentially on property prices rather than ability to pay can only be wrong. We intend to pursue this matter through the Local Government Association and the County Councils Network.

Looking at news bulletins over the weekend I could not help but notice that Tony Blair speaking in Glasgow was set in front of  a backdrop which said:

MORE TEACHERS

MORE NURSES

MORE POLICEMEN

Presumably it should have concluded with a further line which said

MORE COUNCIL TAX!

for it is the Council Tax payer who is providing the extra teachers and policeman, not the Government,  and it is the  tax payer who will find a 1% increase on their National Insurance who  will provide the extra nurses. 

 We also intend to cost how much of local authority spending goes to fund increased government bureaucracy, audit fees and meeting  targets which have little to do with perceived local need.  I am convinced that potentially there are huge savings here.  Then we will be able to show Mr Bradshaw and all those others critics where the real inefficiency lies.

The Government has recently spent almost £1 billion on a Comprehensive Performance Assessment of all authorities but the  Districts.  The results are thought by many to have been totally predictable, so why waste money that could have paid the national overspend  on Social Services which the Government is failing to meet?  The promise of achieving an ‘excellent’ or even a ‘good’ report was to give greater freedoms and flexibilities, whatever that might mean   The reality, however, is something different.  Authorities like Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, Kent, Hertfordshire, Bucks and Devon who all scored in the top two ranges now find that our reward is draconian cuts in our financial settlement, as money is shifted for politically motivated reasons to the North and the Midlands.  Indeed, as one who was born in the North of England, I can see that as a widow and a pensioner I will soon need to return to my roots in order to be able to pay the bills.

Last month, I spent two days in London seeing Ministers.  The Leaders of DCC together with the Chief Executive and Director of Resources and two MPs met Barbara Roche.  We bumped into friends from other authorities there for the same purpose.  In retrospect we should have saved your money and not bothered,  because no one was really listening Apart from data  changes,  only the Isle of Wight ,  who acquired area cost adjustment, benefited from these visits.

Government policy decisions have deprived us a considerable amount of cash.  The worst of these is the iniquitous Resource Equalisation which moves our funding to other parts of the country.  The effect of this will be to add 5.2% on Council Tax increases  Hard on its heels come the cuts in highway spending which adds another  4% to the Council Tax.  In Social Services the loss upon transfer of nursing care funding will add a further  1%.

In spite of the fact that we are one of thirteen authorities whose total grant increase is lower than the amount we are expected to pass to schools.  we intend to passport the full amount.  A good education is the birthright of  Devon ’s children and a high priority. Schools will receive growth of £6.6m or an extra 3.19% .  This amount includes  provision for extra pupil numbers,  but monies which previously came direct from Government to reduce class sizes,  and the Standards Fund are in addition to this. 

Over the last two years by cutting grants and rationing care we have been at last managed not to overspend on Social Services. This has been a really painful process.  Taking hot meals away from vulnerable people isn’t exactly fun! The recent report by Laming into the Victoria Climbie case could also have financial implications for Devon .

I would like to thank the Scrutiny Committees, the MPs,  the Resident’s Panel, the 4000 random sample  of Devon ’s residents, the business community, the voluntary sector and the trade unions for their contribution to the budget process.

I would also like to thank our Director of Resources, Mrs Jan Stanhope and her staff not only for helping to prepare the budget but for their commendable financial management of this authority.  They are a grand team!

Devon ’s final Formula Spending Share is £578.551m but to meet Government targets, make a small amount of local improvements and protect front-line services the Executive believe that we need to spend £616.536m.  I would like to move that a revenue budget be set at £616.536m This means that the County Council Tax for a Band D property will increase from the 2002/03 figure of £766.44 to £904.05, an increase of 17.95%. I must point out however, that this only includes an extra 4% for Fire and a settlement has not yet been reached.

In this authority we have made £1m of efficiency savings this year. For next year we have put in place £5m of efficiency savings  Now 8% more people work on this campus so we have been able to release other properties for re-letting or sale, in order to regenerate more income.  More employees hot desk and  work at home.  Posts are left unfilled to save money.    Devon will be paying an extra £1.7m towards National Insurance to support health.

 In spite of all this a certain local MP and  some members of the public believe that we run a sloppy outfit here and could make all sort of cuts without cutting front-line services.  That makes me very angry.

Alongside my academic qualifications I  am also  qualified in dressmaking and tailoring.  A hobby I used to pursue when I had spare time.  I know how to cut a coat according to the cloth provided.  Unfortunately, we’ve been stitched up and today’s coat  is designed by HM Government and unless extra cloth  can be found it will end up sleeveless, a bit like the coats made in recent years in Plymouth and Torbay when the administrations decided to try set  budgets which were no higher than inflation.  Both these authorities are  now in debt and  Government officials have moved in to try and find some extra material somewhere to set in  sleeves.  They will do so but at a considerable price to the Council Tax payers in those two authorities and regardless of local need.

With great reluctance and with some embarrassment, on behalf of the Executive I move minute 369 of the executive Committee of 11 February 2003 .