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Council ‘forced into corner’ over council tax rise
Date published: 29 January 2013
ESSENTIAL services could face the axe as Oldham Council struggles to balance its books over the next few years.
The stark warning has followed the announcement that council tax in Oldham is set to rise by 3.5 per cent — 60p a week for Band A properties and up to 90p on Band D homes.
Councillor Abdul Jabbar, cabinet member for finance, said the authority had “done very well” to keep key services such as libraries and youth services in place while making cuts of £10 million over the last four years.
But, he warned: “With the scale and continuity of cuts, it is going to be difficult to continue to provide essential services.” He said further cuts of between £38 million and £40 million were “probable” over the next two years, and said the council had been “forced into a corner” over a 3.5 per cent council tax hike.
“I am not in favour of increasing council tax, we haven’t done that for the last three years, but we have been forced into this situation by the scale of cuts in the grant we get from central Government,” he said.
Comments
Libraries, youth services, council propaganda magazines, multi-lingual leaflets and translation services, rebranding exercises, staff on long term bogus sick... cut them all. They won't be missed.
This Council have been aware of the amount of the cuts that were coming for more than three years, so instead of wasting millions of pounds on football, Cinemas, Hotel swimming pool, CPO on Aldi, new carpet for the leader they should have made better use of this funding to support Council services, Could someone at the Council tell us a what services be must provide in law and what are extras. Jim your lot has failed Get back to basics
Only 2 years into a Labour Council and they have run out of money. Why is it that Labour authorities always bleat on about the grant from Central Government? Let us not forget that it was Cllr Jabbar's government that borrowed on a massive scale and destroyed the economy. He cannot now complain when money from Central Government is reduced. Labour has been forced into raising Council Tax because they have run out of money. A £7.5m black hole has appeared because they have overspent.
Furthermore, I would not be surprised if future Council Tax rises were in the pipeline. It must also be noted that this rise in Council Tax has come in a year when there are no elections being held. Let us hope that the public remember this next year.
The trouble with Labour Councils is that they always run out of our money.
before any services are cut. the council need to address the wastage still present within the council!
high level staff are on extrodinary amounts of pay. in this day in age these people should be taking serious pay cuts to show that they are playing their part in the bigger picture.
as yet i have yet to see this. previous and current council leaders have all said they pay the going rate!
its about time that going rate was cut too! everyone has to do their bit.
so let see what ombc do next!
"those councils in England raising taxes by 2% or more must hold a public vote."
In an article for the Telegraph, Mr Pickles said some local authorities were "cheating their taxpayers" and warned: "Anybody using loop holes will lose out next year."
So perhaps Mr Jabbar might like to explain why local rate payers will have to pay even more next year as the government reduces the grant still further as a result of council 'cheating'?
£3.5 million on metro link route. "Lets go for a walk" scheme an utter waste of money. Sky high wages in management ranks and top end. Money wasted on lost court cases, and on, and on, and on
Is there any way to find out how much money the council has sat in reserves in the bank doing nothing but earning interest. Then get them to explain whay they can't use some of this money to safeguard essential services.
This seems quite logical to warn that further suffering is to come due to non consultation on Council tax rise above 2% the government has been quite clear on the consequences of not taking it to the people. What we have with this Labour non co operative Council is a bunch of donkeys lead by an Ass.
It's about time that the truth about the money the Labour Government "wasted" is told. The bulk of the deficit was made up with the money that had to be used to bail out the banks. Any Government would have done the same. The alternative was to let the banks go bust and that would have meant any money savers had, businesses had, local councils had would have disappeared with the banks. History will show that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were wise to do what had to be done.
After 3 years with increases of 0%, aggregate inflation over that time of 10%+ and a Government stripping money out of local authorities as never before a 2% Oldham rise (+ 1.5% from levying authorities) is understandable and not unreasonable.
Pay for services or loose them
exercise the general basic rule of spending. "Want over need" do we really need to spend umpteen millions on pointless projects that have been announced over the last 12 months or so with the economic climate as it is!. if the finances are as bad as they claim. shouldn't the Council then independently audited for their reckless spending and held to account for putting themselves in this situation knowing full well funding from central government was going to be cut.
JMTS you are just as slippery as your Labour colleagues. I get a single council tax bill. Will it go up by 3.5% or 2%?
Why wont Cllr Jabbar and his colleagues just resign and abolish themselves so they can let Central Gov't get on with running the Council? They seem to blame Central Gov't for council tax rises, spending cuts and the sky being blue. What is the point in having a glorified Parish Council? It is your budget and your cuts Cllr Jabbar, so take responsibility and stop putting up Council Tax.
All I hear from certain sections on this board is "Cut this. Cut that." - What I don't hear very often is the word "Growth"
Cuts do not equate to growth (As Cameron & Osborne are finding out)
Lets cut council jobs like some people are suggesting. Will that bring in taxes = NO. Will it help struggling shops = NO. Will it increase poverty and benefit increases = YES
If the Government are hell bent on cuts then don't blame councils across the UK for wanting to increase council taxes
A little maths:
Band A £1028.55 3.5% = £36 pa or 70p pw a little worrying when the council misscalculates simple percentages by nearly 20% !
Yesterday in Daily Telegraph LG minister Eric Pickles threatened that council who raise their taxes will lose out in the following year. Thanks to the council we will all pay more and the government will reduce their contribution pro rata.
No responsible council would want this and back down surely?
so JMTS are cllrs allowances frozen? are cllrs expenses frozen? have they ever been increased by 0%.hope you can look the front linestaff in the eye when they lose their jobs.
ecco fatto
@Minerva. The deficit is not down to bailing out banks. The deficit is as a reuslt of consistent spendign off all revenues, which was reliant on revenues not falling. When they did so spectacularly, spending massively outstripped rvenue. For example benefit spending rose from £95 a year in '97 to £150bn a year by 2010. When the banks stopped bringing in tax to the treasury, Bailing out the banks was done to clean up Brown's catastrophic mismanagement.
There's plenty of fat on the calf. Cllr Jabbar just doesn't want to admit it, otherwise he will be admitting the profligacy we all know has been going on JMTS is simly another socialist who has no regard for the public purse & has forgeotten that the council is there to serve the people.
@Mollythefrog you talk about "growth" but how would you pay for it? You are clearly a Labour supporter who thinks that growth comes from increased spending and borrowing. The Government is not hellbent on cuts as you suggest. If the Labour Council here is Oldham had been more prudent in its spending, then perhaps a Council Tax rise could have been avoided. Also, they rejected the grant available to freeze Council Tax for a third year. The truth is that after 2 years they have run out of money.
@JMTS - Jeremy I just knew that you would defend your Labour colleagues on here. I would expect nothing less from from one their main election strategists. Local Councils have to live within their means and if that means that their budget has been reduced, it does then not give them the right to complain. We are only 2 years into this Labour Council and they have run out of OUR money! I bet you won't include that in one of your leaflets will you? Thought not!
yes Mr Jabbar youv'e all done 'very well' can we laugh now ?
@Mollythefrog, 1st, employing people in the public sector does not create growth. The USSR tried that and it went bust, so no thanks. 2nd, Not every Council is putting up Council Tax, some are freezing it and some are cutting it. But the trouble is you complain to often of how people want to “Cut this and Cut that” but what we don’t hear from you or Labour is when you would ever “Cut” Taxes. You seem keen to spend taxpayer’s money but not too keen on how you would save it.
Yet there is still money for statues and flower beds!
St Francis - 1st Making people redundant won't bring in tax revenue or increase spending in local shops. And since it seems only Osborne and a few individuals on this board think cuts = growth then the reason we are in a double dip recession is all too clear.
But the Tories are experts in excuses (It was the snow's fault, the Royal weddings fault, the Europeans etc etc) and like them you will blame everyone but Tories - Even the IMF are now saying you can't keep cutting and expect growth.
what most people forget is that 800 job posts have already been axed in the council. services havent dropped that much since they've gone.
in fact gritting has actually improved for once!
all these will have had a saving.
so clearly this shows really how much over the years the previous councils have been wasting all these years.
that money should have been ploughed into maintaining infrastructure and a back up fund.
maybe then the cuts wouldnt have been so harsh!
So because the gritting has improved then cutting 800 jobs was therefore justified.
A bit more homework and a bit less guess-work would improve your arguments and perhaps show that you know what you are talking about
@Mollythefrog - your assertion that the Tories are experts in excuses is simply breathtaking. The IFS has said that Labour's plans would add £200bn to Britain's borrowing. The Governor of the Bank of England backs the Government's plans. You and your fellow Labour travellers should be apologising for the mess you left our economy in. The simple fact is that Oldham's Labour Council has overspent after only 2 years in office. We need no lessons in excuses from you. You appear to be full of them.
go one then molly! enlighten me to the facts.
like many others disguise on here pretending to be normal oldham folk! arguements but no real facts when questioned.
800 job posts have been axed in the last 2 years. these were all paid posts. the council have reduced this number.
but most were posts and not individual people. in some cases two or even three jobs where held by one person.
people i work with are ex council workers who lost their jobs. even they say the wasteage still exists
fairbank007 @ I bow to your expertise on why the UK is doing so well under Cameron, Clegg & Osborne. I never knew a double dip recession was something to be proud of. And now that we might be heading for a triple dip - You must be over the moon with such an achievement.
PS: No doubt you will be throwing out the same old "It's not my fault Guv" excuse so well used by other blue rinses
@Mollythefrog - your sarcasm underlines the fact that you are unable to answer my point why the Governor of the Bank of England and the IMF back the Government's position. You are the one using the "It's not my fault,Guv" excuse.
The reality is that had your Party been returned to power they would have still had to make cuts but would have taken longer to do it which would have caused far greater economic damage. Labour left us with a debt mountain worse than Greece's. You are in total denial.
no point arguing with someone brainwashed by labour!
even after 13 years of running this country into the ground some people still cannot see the damage done!
had we continued under labour we would be in a much worse position than we are now.
the fact that labour have had over two years to do the decent thing and at least apologise properly for the mess they've caused.
and yet they still havent even done that.
ed milibad did a half hearted effot but it was forced and really an apology.
Back in the 70s, Oldhams people didnt have much in their pockets, and some in poverty, yet the council kept its staff had more people on frontline duties ect, but now in 2013, most of Oldham are in poverty, yet the council has the cheek to make us pay more(when we dont have it) yet cut frontline services,homes ect cause they cant afford it.
I have only one thing to say, cut the wages of senior management staff, stop wasting money we have not got on swimming pools, and slim the councillors by 50%
Have Your Say
Can anybody cut through the spin and misinformation and answer a simple question. Is the council tax rise 3.5% or 2%?
By Old_Mancunian @ 29/01/2013 12:34:20