Opposition groups on Bristol City Council have revealed how they would spend residents’ money. Greens, Tories, Lib Dems and Knowle Community Party have all suggested changes, called amendments, to Marvin Rees’s budget, with some targeting funding to the mayor’s office and the authority’s public relations to reverse several controversial measures or projects like reopening public toilets.
The Labour mayor proposes £19.5million of cutbacks, or “savings”, to plug a funding shortfall and balance the books in 2022/23, part of £33million of cost reductions over the next five years. Mr Rees insists no frontline services will be cut while huge investments are made in housing and affordable homes in the budget, which will be set at a meeting of full council on Tuesday (February 15).
But the plans have come under fire as they include steeper fees for allotments and parking, such as scrapping the 30-minute free stays, charges to install disabled residents’ vehicle bays, a rehab centre closure, “swingeing” cuts to museums and archives, less money for library books and £5.5million less on council staffing, including redundancies.
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The opposition amendments, to the revenue or capital budgets, have all been assessed by council officers and will each be voted on, becoming part of the budget if they receive a majority of votes and are then accepted by the mayor, who could instead resubmit the original or alternative proposals to a full council reserve date on March 2.
You can read what the Greens are proposing here, the Tories here and Knowle Community Party here. Here’s what the Lib Dems would do with residents' money:
Funds would be redirected from a “bloated mayor’s office and PR machine” to initiatives like speeding up assessments for disabled residents in need of home adaptations. Increased borrowing would fund additional school places for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) along with investment in play parks and removing physical barriers on walking and cycling routes.
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Group leader Cllr Jos Clark said: “Clearly, the mayor’s budget is not the starting point we would have chosen. Even allowing for the impact of Covid and central government decision-making, this budget is haunted by the ghost of the mayor’s decision to pour tens of millions into Bristol Energy.
“There are a host of painful cuts and we wish we could address them all. We know some of these are being addressed by the other opposition parties and we will support these where we can.” Deputy leader Cllr Andrew Brown, who led on the development of the budget amendments, said: “We have put together a number of measures that are designed to assist some of the most disadvantaged in our city, improving their quality of life.
“We have also recognised the importance that parks, green spaces, accessible play parks and improvements to active travel all have in relation to increasing people’s wellbeing.” Cllr Andrew Varney, whose Front Garden Tree Scheme motion was recently passed unanimously by council, said: “I’m delighted that we have been able to find some funding to progress the scheme and increase investment in trees across the city.”
The Lib Dems say they would increase the council’s borrowing by £1.4million, which officers have assessed as remaining within policy limits, of which £360,000 will pay for repairs in parks and for new “pocket parks”, prioritising the accessibility needs of disabled and disadvantaged groups. The officers’ assessment says: “This funding would raise the quality of green spaces and encourage use and access.
“By focussing on those areas of the city where satisfaction with them is lowest we will help raise standards, encourage higher visitor numbers and help us meet One City Plan objectives. The importance of parks and green spaces on individuals’ and communities’ health and wellbeing is better understood now than ever before and there is a real opportunity to invest in areas with high health inequality and make a significant impact.”
A further £100,000 would be spent on cycling and walking infrastructure, removing physical obstacles on cycleways and “filling missing links in active travel networks”, while £980,000 would invest in the SEND capital programme to “help deliver urgently needed new places”. Officers say the budget will support the council’s expansion of specialist provision to meet the shortfall of places and that further investment could boost the offer of appropriate pupil places, “improving the suitability and condition of current buildings used for providing education to SEND pupils”.
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They say Cllr Brown’s revenue amendment to cut £100,000 from the mayor’s office and £90,000 from PR and consultation would “substantially reduce” capacity to handle enquiries from residents and the media and to support public engagement. From those savings, £50,000 would fund an additional occupational therapist providing assessments for people applying for disabled facilities grants, which officers say will reduce waiting times and help the service to meet increasing demand for home adaptations.
Another £20,000 will go towards the Front Garden Tree Scheme, with officers saying the investment would help develop the council’s existing Garden Forest initiative to support residents who could plant a tree in their front garden, although more money could be needed. The rest of the revenue cash would pay off what officers call a “small increase” in the overall capital financing costs from the additional long-term borrowing that would fund the extra SEND places.
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