Councils running out of money.

[Chippy_Tea]

Why are the government spending a minimum of £55.7 Billion on HS2 while Councils are cutting services like dementia care etc, this obscene waste of money should be stopped now.


Some councils in England have been warned they risk running out of cash reserves if recent spending continues.

Analysis by the BBC has identified 11 authorities the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) said would have "fully exhausted" reserves within four years unless they topped them up.

The Local Government Association said councils faced "systemic underfunding".

The government said councils were responsible for managing their funds.

Councils have faced cuts to their government funding and rising demand for services such as social care, while MPs have warned children's services are at "breaking point".

Cash reserves - money held back for specific projects or emergencies, such as flooding - are seen as a measure of financial security.

The BBC analysis of government data follows work by Cipfa, which published a "resilience" index of councils, but stopped short of naming those it warned were depleting reserves the fastest.

The warning was based on the latest data available, comparing reserves as of March 2018 with March 2015.

The analysis reveals which 11 of the 152 major English councils have used so much of their reserves since 2015 that Cipfa said they would run out within four years if spending patterns continued.

BBC news.

 

[Clint]

They could stop paying "executives" six figure sums for a start. Then next on my list..Mayors and their chauffeur driven cars and all the nonsense ...get rid!
Wrexham council plead poverty but have all the above and more and are now on about giving land away to the town uni to help justify the sale of playing fields and green space for housing that isn't required on the local LDP ...giving land away...thick as thieves the lot of them...I bet WHSmiths is fresh out of brown envelopes!

 

[peebee]

Why are the government spending a minimum of £55.7 Billion on HS2 while Councils are cutting services like dementia care etc, this obscene waste of money should be stopped now. … BBC news.

As if the councils are squeaky clean?

I've just done my bit to help empty the council's coffer's by reclaiming £n,000s from my local council paid as council tax that they shouldn't have taken (they've had since the early 90's to sort out those rules, but just didn't bother until the Welsh Government decided to kick 'em in the pants recently*).

"Councils are cutting services like dementia care etc" ... if they were ever paying it and not syphoning it off into someone else's pocket. The council had even assigned me a care worker a while back to handle any benefit claims I might have; but not the claims on the council it seems.

(*EDIT: English councils snigger at this because the Welsh Government can't touch them. But they've been doing the same thing and will continue to do so).

 

[Gunge]

Our council pays 'Dave' loads of cash to potter around in his water truck feeding the 5 million hanging baskets which adorn the lovely ( not ) town centre, whilst the rest of the borough out of sight of any strangers who might have cause to visit, goes to rack and ruin. It is, of course, Labour run and always has been.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Not saying councils are perfect but the facr is 55 billion pounds minimum on something to get the few down south a bit quicker is obscene.

 

[Richie_asg1]

This always seems to be the way. - No money for anything the people actually need, more austerity, closing resources, too cash strapped to repair the roads...and then WHAM - £55 Billion spent on some ludicrous project. Or in my case £3.2 Million spent on a frickin water fountain outside the new council offices...after paving the lot in polished granite!
https://news.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ne...rt-of-the-32m-refurbishment-of-a-city-street/

Not to mention the huge carved granite flower pots for sickly trees to sit in, or keeping the trees around the sides cut into squares...because that's how it looked on the architects plans.

Square trees...I kid you not.

But you want a doctors appointment - that will be in 3 weeks.

 

[Dutto]

I love the way the Government responded, which according to the BBC was "The government said councils were responsible for managing their funds." No **** Sherlock!

This is typical of our current government! Cut back the money given to councils by central government then wash your hands when there's not enough money to do what the Councils are charged to do!

This government's policy of "austerity" is designed to cause distress for the many and not the few; and things have to change!

PS
Here are the responsibilities for the various Councils in England.

County councils
These are responsible for services across the whole of a county, like:

• education
• transport
• planning
• fire and public safety
• social care
• libraries
• waste management
• trading standards

District, borough and city councils
These cover a smaller area than county councils. They’re usually responsible for services like:

• rubbish collection
• recycling
• Council Tax collections
• housing
• planning applications

Parish, community and town councils
These operate at a level below district and borough councils and in some cases, unitary authorities. (e.g. London!)
They’re elected and can help on a number of local issues, like providing:

• allotments
• public clocks
• bus shelters
• community centres
• play areas and play equipment
• grants to help local organisations
• consultation on neighbourhood planning

They also have the power to issue fixed penalty fines for things like:

• litter
• graffiti
• fly posting
• dog offences

It helps if you know who to blame; even for the provision of hanging baskets!

 

[peebee]

Not saying councils are perfect but the facr is 55 billion pounds minimum on something to get the few down south a bit quicker is obscene.

I think where the OP got it wrong and wound everyone up is the sentence "councils are cutting services like dementia care"; suggesting the county councils are the defenders of the common people against the evil central government, when the councils are actually ten times worse. And then to really rub it in imply county councils as the defenders of "mental health" provisions ("mental health" being a bit of an "in" topic at the moment) - which is where I stepped in with an example of county councils depriving the most dire mental health sufferers from quite substantial wads of their own money.

BTW: I consider I only "brush" with the above "dire" description and don't care to admit to it (I can't hide from it usually but can hide very well behind a keyboard in these forums) - but I'm in a very good position to speak for those too "dire" to speak for themselves. To check if you're owed this money from the council, first determine if you are classed "SMI" - and you'll have to look up that TLA yourself.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I think where the OP got it wrong and wound everyone up is the sentence "councils are cutting services like dementia care"; suggesting the county councils are the defenders of the common people against the evil central government, when the councils are actually ten times worse.

My reference to mental care was brought about by the interview I was listening to on the radio moments before I posted the OP the woman interviewed has had to give up her job to look after her mother who has dementia so now has no income and a mother at home needing constant care who doesn't even know who she is and all this is because the local dementia care home has closed due to cuts, I couldn't give a flying **** whether its the government or council who is to blame all i know is the majority of us will never go on a high speed train but the majority of us or our families are likely to need care at some time in our life, HS2 should be cancelled immediately and the money should be spent for the benefit of the majority not the minority.

I'll put my soap box away now.

 

[peebee]

… the woman interviewed has had to give up her job to look after her mother who has dementia so now has no income and a mother at home needing constant care …

She'd certainly be in-line for a 25% reduction in council tax, as long as she's the only adult living at home with her mum (her mum is SMI and doesn't count at all for council tax purposes). But I guess she's across the border in England so the council will pull every ruse possible to avoid not taking the tax (and paying back what they've already taken). Or not taking the tax for now; it'll catch up with them. I wonder if councils took into account this waking up of a sleeping dragon when they closed care homes?


(EDIT: This is why I like forums: To be eligible for tax exemption your condition must impact your "intelligence" and the above reply doesn't suggest that to be the case with me. But try having this conversation with me face-to-face or on 'phone … )

 

[dad_of_jon]

all i know is the majority of us will never go on a high speed train

Been on a 200mph train in europe (only did 186mph though). Whilst in this country (wales) we are due battery powered trains - go figure - UK LTD PLC - We do stuff on the cheap.

We do need to improve our rail infrastructure though. In south west wales and other parts of the uk there is a shortage of healthcare professionals. Much of it due to poor transport infrastructure. Better cheaper mobility for workers will also benefit us as a whole although not in such a direct way.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We do need to improve our rail infrastructure though.

I agree and northern rail has come in for a lot of stick recently due to poor service i would like to see how much these services could improve (all the county rail networks) if HS2 was scrapped and they were given some of it (but not all) to improve the service.

 

[Richie_asg1]

Would I rather have a 200mph train that can hurutle me into London 20 minutes faster than the current one...or a cheaper bus service into my own town of Aberdeen every week?...........Hmmmm let me think.

 

[MyQul]

The various companies cant run the trains we have got, let alone a new 200mph one. I catch the train to works once every two weeks (the rest of the time I cycle to work), and without fail their are delays and cancellations to the train I'm supposed to catch. Today their was a signal failure and nothing was going through wimbledon. So I had to get to Surbiton via Putney.
This just shows you how often there are delays/cancellations, as if this happens every time I catch the train, how many more delays/cancellations are there on the other 13 days I dont. I cant be that unlucky it just happens on the day I catch the train

 

[Richie_asg1]

Last time I was on a train it stopped for 2 hours on the hottest day of the year - no air con, 1970's seats and only 2 small windows per carriage that opened. - Fun times.

 

[BarnBrian]

Last time I was on a train it stopped for 2 hours on the hottest day of the year - no air con, 1970's seats and only 2 small windows per carriage that opened. - Fun times.

Two small windows. They should have stuck with the big drop down windows that were adjusted with a leather strap. Much better for sticking your head out of. Dutto and some others will remember these.

 

[BeerCat]

I knew a councilor somewhere else in the country and he told me the top knobs would get 200k+ retirement bonus. I wondered how many streets that would take. Apparently they would often be back as paid consultants only a few months later.