North-East is unfairly targeted over cuts, says Durham County Council leader (From The Northern Echo)
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North-East is unfairly targeted over cuts, says Durham County Council leader
8:00am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in News
Simon Henig
A COUNCIL leader branded Government spending cuts “indefensible and obscene”, as his authority slashed £26m from its budget yesterday.
Simon Henig, Labour leader of Durham County Council – which faces a 40 per cent cut in spending power of nearly £190m between 2010 and 2017, said Government ministers were unfairly targeting poorer, northern areas – and the North-East was being hit hardest.
“The problems we are facing were not made by the people of North-East England, but we are being made to pay for them,” Coun Henig told the council’s budgetsetting meeting at County Hall.
Councillors voted to freeze council tax and cut spending by £26.6m, including axing about 20 neighbourhood warden jobs, merging their work with dog wardens and increasing charges for various services.
Many libraries also face having their opening hours reduced and dozens of community centres are under threat.
Liberal Democrats called for fewer library cuts, an extra £500,000 for wardens, £1m more for repairing roads and footpaths and a £1m fund for training engineers.
These measures would funded by axing the council’s County Durham News (CDN) magazine, recycling more, cutting councillors’ allowances and using £1.2m of the authority’s Contingency Fund, said Lib Dem leader Nigel Martin.
Conservatives also wanted to support libraries more and scrap CDN.
Independent John Shuttleworth proposed an extra £1m for highway maintenance, funded by axing CDN and cutting council communications.
All three amendments were defeated and Labour’s plans accepted.
Labour also proposed protecting the winter maintenance budget, putting £2.15m more into adult social care, £1.5m more into safeguarding children and investing an extra £3.5m to boost the economy.
Councillors agreed a £359m, three-year capital investment programme.
Council house and garage rents will rise by 6.25 per cent.
Durham Police Authority has frozen its precept, while County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority’s charge will rise by 2.97 per cent.
This means council tax for County Durham residents in 2012-13, excluding charges levied by parish and town councils and Durham’s charter trustees, will be: Band A £1,017.81; Band B £1,187.45; Band C £1,357.08; Band D £1,526.72; Band E £1,865.99; Band F £2,205.26; Band G £2,544.53; Band H £3,053.44.
Comments(18)
Nicholas_Till
says...
11:18am Thu 23 Feb 12
Any group of wardens, librarians etc. probably merits being kept in employment. Durham City Vision can make no such claims to merit. It has done almost nothing but harm, and the odd good effort - like the new World Heritage Site information centre in Owengate - is the sort of thing the Cathedral did years ago, e.g. in its Undercroft museum and cafe, without these 'cultural change' commissars infesting the place.
Both from the point of view of its supposed achievements and from the point of view of money spent on it or wasted by it, Durham City Vision is an absolute rotting albatross and it's more than time we got it off our necks.
The Vision has been a busy little cog in the racket that Durham's civic life has become, whose big players are precisely the entities represented round the Vision table. They watched as the domesticated residential area of Whinney Hill was gutted by greedy buy-to-letters.
Allanopie
says...
11:28am Thu 23 Feb 12
Nicholas_Till
says...
11:51am Thu 23 Feb 12
Last para of my post, above. I meant to edit it out, not intending right now to write a lengthy essay on the damage DCV have presided over in Durham City. But I mean that bit about 'a busy little cog in the racket...'
stevegg
says...
3:23pm Thu 23 Feb 12
smokin
says...
3:33pm Thu 23 Feb 12
northumbrian water now that a laugh should it now be called hongkonese water
Jolly Roger
says...
5:58pm Thu 23 Feb 12
OK they are Labour by party but not by name.
And as I pay my CT I would love these councils to take a 50% cut in they wages and expenses to show us they are will to share our pain.
Because what else do we get from them. nothing, as we wanted Stanhope Ford kept open, labraries, community centres etc etc but these people do not listen to us.
But are willing to blame everyone else but themselves for getting us in this mess.
smiler03
says...
6:07pm Thu 23 Feb 12
MisterMole
says...
7:40pm Thu 23 Feb 12
It seems that the austerity measures suffered by many, haven't quite crept under the door of Mr Henig's Ivory Tower in County Hall. How much does this venture cost annually and how many vehicles are currently held specifically for "Civic Duties"? Perhaps an FOI request from The Northern Echo is in order?
This is nothing short of disgusting arrogance, when Mr Henig repeatedly bleats about hard times. Quite clearly, we're not all in it together. Here's a few tips I've found useful for getting around the county:
1). Use your own vehicle.
2). Use Public Transport
3). Book a taxi.
4). Walk
Altogether greener? Don't make me laugh.
spragger
says...
8:57pm Thu 23 Feb 12
DCC has a suspect history of spending.
It still has an expensive Chief Exec, pays its staff above average wages. It provides pensions from Taxes that most taxpayers cannot afford for themselves.
It has many roles that would not be missed by paying taxpayers.
It has a way to go and should get on with it instead of blaming others
smiler03
says...
10:29pm Thu 23 Feb 12
Taxpaying Homeowner
says...
7:53am Fri 24 Feb 12
All councils have had cuts to budgets, partly due to the massive overspending by this councillors ruling party at the time and ridiculous pandering on issues like welfare.
Benefits are more of an issue up here, perhaps its time to rethink social housing policy and stop paying for social housing claimants to live in houses that working people struggle to afford to live in. Also charge working people more for council house rent.
Easy fixes that would save money, however Labour attack these types of ideas when raised by the coalition.
Each council has a pot created through funding and income such as Council Tax and Business Rates. The NE has a high proportion of money going out in benefits.
mark.wilkinson
says...
5:56pm Fri 24 Feb 12
fixthecouncil
says...
12:02pm Sat 25 Feb 12
the northern echo needs to support this by advertising for independent councillors, and giving support to them...
any fool can run durham county council..take a look at them now!!!!labour run council needs to sit back and take a look at what the people need and want...so bloody simple!!!
cuts should be from the top down..but that will never happen as they are too busy freeloading and lining their own pockets...yes i will say it ..!!!TAKING BACK HANDERS!!!!
we all know you are all doing it...free trips and hotel stays...
stop the chauffer driven cars and taxis...stop the free food.....
and allthese functions the council holds are not necessary....
i would also like to add...why is the council spending millions on planting flowers everywhere..it is a ridiculous amount of wasted money...but then again what would the lazy and bone idle workers have to do in the winter time....get a grip d.c.c....when new councillors are voted in you will all hopefully lose your jobs, through forced redundancy...
Allanopie
says...
3:45pm Sat 25 Feb 12
spragger
says...
7:18pm Sat 25 Feb 12
These freeloaders keep voting to spend other peoples money.
They have no stake in efficiency & sound spending.
Just vote to keep it coming
Taxpaying Homeowner
says...
8:28am Mon 27 Feb 12
Thats part of the problem, to much reliance on the state and handouts.
Agree thats these lot look after themselves first with golden contracts etc.
See Spraggers comment below your last post for the real bottom line!!!
tomtopper
says...
12:07am Wed 29 Feb 12
doonhamer says...
10:56am Thu 23 Feb 12