News from Westminster Labour

Westminster Conservatives’ new £14m cuts to services and jobs

New and increased charges to be announced in January.

Westminster City Council is planning to make a further £14 million cuts to services and jobs and will be introducing new and increased charges, according to a report to the Council’s Cabinet to be considered later today. This latest round of cuts follows last month’s revelation that the Council has a £20 million hole in its budget, due largely to a £17 miscalculation in the Council’s income from parking fines. In July 2009 the Council made nearly 300 staff redundant. And in September 2008 the Council revealed that £17 million of Council tax payers’ money had been invested in now-failed Icelandic Banks.

The full extent of the cuts and increased charges will be revealed in January, according to the report.

The Cabinet report says:

“To maintain general fund balances of the order of £25million to £30million over the planning period it will be necessary to identify further cost reduction and income generating proposals totalling some £14million per annum. A wide range of service areas are currently being examined with the aim of bringing further proposals forward in early January.”

To cope with the dire financial state of the Council’s finances the Conservatives have already been increasing charges or introducing new ones, for example:

* the price of meals-on-wheels has been increased by almost 10 per cent (from £2.30p to £2.55p) and will cost elderly people an extra £91 a year.

* On 1st December a new £20 charge on residents was introduced to pay for the cost of the removal of bulky refuse.

* A £1 a day tax has been introduced on all motorbike owners to park their bikes in Westminster. Over a full year this amounts to a new tax of over £300.

* A new charge of £10 has been introduced on residents wanting to change their car parking details.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said:

“The Conservatives have brought the Council to its knees with their financial incompetence, but the people who they expect to pay to clean up their mess are the poor and vulnerable who will have services cut and new charges imposed and Council staff who will lose their jobs. Last year the Conservatives put £17 million at risk by investing now-failed Icelandic Banks and this year they lost another £17 million by miscalculating how much income the Council would collect from parking fines. Westminster residents simply can’t afford the Conservatives to lose another £17 million next year by getting the Council’s finances wrong yet again. The Conservatives have proved beyond doubt that they cannot be trusted with residents’ money.”

Other news from Westminster Labour

• Twelve questions for the next Leader of Westminster Council - 10 February 2012
• Westminster Council joint bottom of London league for Adult Social Care - 6 February 2012
• Westminster Labour calls for an 'outbreak of democracy' over election of new council Leader - 2 February 2012