South Gloucestershire Council’s ruling Conservatives have been accused of “pretending they can solve” a £29.3m budget shortfall “caused” by their own party’s government. The authority’s cabinet agreed a raft of proposed cuts on Monday, December 5, despite many of them lacking details, however they include green waste collections rising from £30 to £55 a year, dimming street lights and reducing staffed library hours.
Opposition councillors aired concerns about the draft 2023/24 budget, which will be agreed at full council in February, but the ruling group and officers had little more to say about the savings required to plug the deficit, such as the impact of a smaller street-care team on pothole repair times, other than many were still being worked through. Tory cabinet members said the squeeze on costs was caused by Vladimir Putin and high interest rates rather than the government and that the authority was in a better position than most because of “prudent financial management”.
They said most frontline services would be unaffected and car parking would remain free. But Lib Dem Cllr Mike Drew told the meeting that the draft budget was dependent on the local government financial settlement which Whitehall had yet to announce, and that it was likely to be far less favourable than hoped.
