Bromley Council Tax to rise after Tories fail to back Labour’s call for a freeze

Labour’s plan for a zero increase in the council tax paid by Bromley residents was rejected by Bromley Tories at Monday night’s council meeting.

Bromley Conservative’s are imposing a 0.94% increase in Council Tax from April 1st. This includes a 1.24% increase in Bromley’s expenditure and a 0% increase in the GLA precept.

Labour councillors argued that at a time when some residents were facing financial insecurity, everything should be done to keep council tax rises as low as possible.

Councillor John Getgood, Leader of the Labour opposition on Bromley Council, commented:

“There is no need for this increase this year. The Labour government has given Bromley a 4% increase in overall funding – well above inflation. Bromley Tories are sitting on £45 million pounds worth of tax payers money that could have been used for one-off expenditure such as the cost of the election. Councillors’ allowances should also be reduced.

London’s Conservative Councils are a threat to the Freedom Pass

This is the text of a letter published in the Bromley Times from Cllr John Getgood, Leader of the Labour Group on Bromley Council:

Cllr Smith adopted his best Mr Grumpy face for your article on the future of the Freedom Pass but some of the assertions in the article should not go unchallenged.

The only threat to the Freedom Pass comes from some Conservative controlled boroughs that do not want to fund it.

The Government funding referred to in your article was intended only to compensate London Boroughs for the extension of the scheme to cover bus journeys by pensioners from other areas (as has happened across the country).

In times such as these, it is especially important that tax payers money is used most effectively. The extra cost of extending the scheme in London has come out at £7mn a year, far less than was anticipated, and will be even less next year. As a result, London councils have received a £49mn surplus per year in additional concessionary fares funding.

Good services have to be paid for in Bromley

This is the text of a letter published in the Bromley News Shopper from Cllr John Getgood, Leader of the Labour Group on Bromley Council:

David West’s letters regarding Council Tax raise some interesting issues.

However, in nearly 8 years on the council I do not recognise a single post in Bromley that has been forced on the council tax payer by the government. Bromley Council officers work hard to provide much needed services and improve the quality of life for all the people of Bromley, especially those that need them most. I wish they could do more.

Bromley’s central government grant has not been reduced. It is undoubtedly lower than most. That is because grants to all councils are measured in the same way, according to the level of need in the borough as a whole and the ability a council has to raise funds through council tax. There will always be arguments over the accuracy of a complex system but is does not discriminate against boroughs of any particular political control.

Bromley Council to watch performance of Dial-A-Ride

Bromley’s Labour councillors had the rare treat of winning a council motion at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Cllr Peter Fookes told the meeting about his recent experience trying to book Dial-A-Ride, Transport for London’s dedicated taxi service for people with disabilities.

Trying to book a service for a friend on an early Friday evening recently, Peter was told that a service could not be provided. In this day and age that simply is not good enough.

He has since discovered that 40% of respondents to a survey conducted by the London Assembly Transport Committee rated the service poor or very poor.

Peter’s call for Bromley Council to scrutinise the performance of Dial-A-Ride for the borough’s residents was backed by councillors from all sides.

Care home report sparks controversy at Bromley Council meeting

The reports from the Care Quality Commission which found Bromley’s adult social care amongst the eight worst in England, was discussed at the council meeting on Tuesday 15th.

Councillor Graham Arthur, the Conservative Party Portfolio Holder responsible for adult care, answered three very similarly worded questions from his own party in councillors’ question time. It turned out that one of the councillors in whose name the question was submitted had no knowledge of the question. This is against the rules governing councillor questions. Clearly, Cllr Arthur was placing friendly questions to avoid having to answer the serious questions which need to be put following the critical report.

When serious questions were raised by Cllr John Getgood, Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Arthur chose to deny and ridicule the findings rather than address the serious concerns. Cllr John Getgood commented:

“The findings are not all bad and in many areas Bromley is performing well. However, it remains a fact that all but 7 councils in England were found to be performing better.

Bromley adult social care criticised, Labour calls for reverse of cuts

Bromley has been ordered to urgently improve the quality of it’s Social Care Services for adults following an independent report. Bromley is one of only eight councils in England to have been criticised by the Social Care Commission.

The council’s provision has been criticised as only adequate in the areas of Improving Health and Well Being, Increasing Choice and Control, Freedom from Discrimination and Harassment, Maintaining Dignity and Respect and the overall Delivery of Outcomes.

Cllr John Getgood, Leader of the Labour group, commented:

“The council is failing vulnerable adults. Some aspects of the service are rightly recognised as good but we have warned Bromley Tories that waiting times are too long and we have been ignored.

3 accidents in 12 hours, five this month – when will Bromley Council act?

People living in Kings Hall Road, Beckenham, have been complaining about the speed reduction measures the council introduced just over a year ago.

They want the speed of traffic slowed in their road. But the large central islands that the council installed have not slowed the traffic and have led to more accidents than ever on this busy rush hour commuter route.

The latest incidents were over the weekend when there were three accidents in less than 12 hours. Sunday evening, a van finished up wrapped around a tree, Monday morning a lorry failed to take the bend safely and hit the previously damaged van, and then an hour later another lorry ran along the grass verge in an attempt to avoid the traffic island. The driver failed, collided with the traffic island, and his tyre blew out.

London Tories vote against rape crisis centres

Conservatives from across London recently voted against a motion calling on Mayor Boris Johnson to deliver on his promise to fund four rape crisis centres.

In his 2008 election manifesto Boris Johnson promised £744,000 a year (£2.23m over three years) to keep London’s one existing rape crisis centre open and to fund three more. His manifesto said: “We will act immediately to provide long term funding for four rape crisis centres by cutting the number of GLA spin doctors”. He promised ring-fenced funding of “around £744,000″ a year.

But, one year after his election, the Mayor announced that only £1.4m had been earmarked for rape crisis centres – almost a million short of what he promised when seeking Londoners’ votes.

Confusion over Bromley’s education policy shows Conservative divisions

The Leader of Bromley council, Conservative Councillor Stephen Carr, today had to step in to deny that the council are considering using tax payers’ money to subsidise children at private schools.

The possibility was first raised at the June council meeting by Councillor Peter Morgan. In response, the Portfolio Holder for Children & Young People, Councillor Ernest Noad, had said that he would look into the matter…

Bromley Labour slams Tory plan to “bail out” private schools

The Leader of the Labour Group on Bromley Council, John Getgood, has responded to media reports that local Conservatives could divert state school funding to subsidise families “struggling” to pay private school fees.
Councilor Getgood told Labour Matters:
“This suggestion is just another feeble attempt by Tories to divert money meant for ordinary children from [...]