21 May 2004
Cuts to jobs and services are on the way unless the government abandons plans to cap authorities, ministers have been warned, as those in the firing line submitted last-ditch appeals against the orders.
Authorities ordered to cut their budgets to reduce council tax rises queued up to warn of the dire consequences if the government enacts the orders, as the May 20 deadline for representations passed.
Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority has told Public Finance it will have to slash 195 posts, including 140 firefighters, if the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister follows through with its capping threat in this financial year.
Councils such as Torbay in Devon, Shepway in Kent and Fenland in Cambridgeshire say they will have to cut vital local services if they are forced to take an axe to their budgets for 2004/05.
Others, like Herefordshire, Nottingham and Telford & Wrekin, meanwhile, are arguing that the costs of rebilling residents will be larger than the budget reductions that capping is meant to achieve, and are calling for 'common sense to prevail'.
Fourteen councils, fire and police authorities were told on April 29 their budgets were being capped after setting 'excessive' increases. Of these, seven – all six local authorities mentioned above and H&WFA – were 'designated' for in-year capping. The remaining seven, all fire or police authorities, were 'nominated' for action in 2005/06.
H&WFA says in its submission that it will have to lay off 93 full-time firefighters, 27% of the total, and 47 retained firefighters. A further 40 support staff will be made redundant and 15 vacant posts scrapped.
It has been told to cut its £25m budget by £2m and estimates that rebilling will cost £500,000. It says these measures will reduce Band D bills by 14p per week.
Treasurer Mike Weaver said: 'The authority wants to minimise the risk [of redundancies], but when we've got nowhere else to go we find ourselves in these very hard, difficult circumstances.'
Shepway has been ordered to slash £600,000, 30p per week on Band D bills, from its £16.1m budget. Deputy leader Paul Marsh said cuts to sports services, waste recycling, outreach work and CCTV provision would be the result.
'It doesn't make sense and in our view it is unacceptable,' he added.
Ian Hyson, county treasurer at Herefordshire Council, told PF that budgets had already been pruned as far as possible. His authority must cut its £175.6m budget by £253,000 – £3.80 per week on a Band D bill.
'We have set our budget carefully and investigated possible savings as part of that process. We don't have surpluses we can strip out at the drop of a hat,' he said.
An ODPM spokeswoman said the department could not comment on individual submissions at this stage. She added: 'We will listen to all representations carefully and take into consideration what authorities have to say.'
Authorities will learn the outcome of their appeals after the June 10 elections.
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