Surrey County Conservatives

Surrey’s 5% rise reflects government created funding crisis 7th February 2006

Surrey Conservatives have condemned the government over its level of funding for SCC at today’s council budget meeting after they were left with little choice but to agree a 5% in Council Tax for 2006/07 or face a severe reduction in services as government under-funding for the county reaches unprecedented levels.

The 5% rise endorsed by the council comes against the backdrop of an atrocious grant settlement from the government which has resulted in Surrey having to fund nearly 80% of its budget from council tax-payers, compared to many Labour authorities in the north and midlands who have to fund only 30% of their budget from the council tax.

Had the Conservative administration not anticipated the unfavourable grant settlement from the government, and had instigated the Business Delivery Review which has delivered into the budget savings of £17.9m, then the authority may have found itself in real danger of being capped by the government for setting an increase in council tax above 5% in order protect frontline services.

Conservatives were, however, able to announce in the budget real investment increases in the following key areas:

• An additional £8.5m for Children & Young people to provide increased provision for SEN transport, greater investment in preventative services and compensate for the loss of government specific grant for safeguarding children.

• An additional £25.6m investment in Adults & Community Care to meet the increased costs of care as well as demographic changes whilst enabling the service to look after an additional 1000 clients by March 2007.

• An increase in highways maintenance investment of £8.5m, thereby bringing the total level of council investment in transport to an unprecedented £35m for 2006/2007.

• An investment of £500,000 in library improvements subject to the outcome of the BDR consultation.

Once again, for the fourth consecutive year, the Lib Dems failed to offer any credible alternative budget, and only offered a handful of uncosted proposals that failed to address the funding problems failed by the council.

Commenting Conservative Group Leader, Nick Skellett, said:

“This has certainly been one of the most challenging budgets I have had to propose since becoming leader of this authority back in 1997. Surrey’s financial settlement this year is such that we now receive the second-lowest per-head grant in the country, leaving us to raise some £465m from Surrey’s taxpayers. Where we get £95.85 to spend per resident from the government, Lab controlled Lancashire gets £191.96. It is against this backdrop that we have been forced to set a rise of 5% on Surrey’s council taxpayers this year in order to maintain our frontline services at their current level of provision.

However, we have been fortunate to be able to largely offset the government imposed cash crisis by implementing many of the savings proposed in the BDR as well as finding savings across all services. Without these savings we would not have been able to announce today real increased investment in adult care packages, road maintenance, looking after vulnerable children to name but a few. What I can tell Surrey’s taxpayers is that we are doing all in our power to keep the tax as low as possible and will continue to do so. Surrey Conservatives will not be happy until we have no increase in tax at all.

NS added:

“Had we listened to the Lib Dems, who have not only failed for the fourth year in a row to table an alternative budget and have consistently opposed the BDR, this council would now be facing the prospect of a council tax rise far exceeding 5% or have to implement severe cuts across all services”