A TOP council chief has said the Royal Borough ‘can’t protect everybody’ from the cost of living crisis but denied accusations that the budget is “scary”.
The local authority is planning to hike up council tax by five per cent in 2023/24 as well as make £12m worth of savings. One of those includes cutting the family hub service to the statutory minimum in order to save £400,000.
Cllr Helen Price (TBFI: Clewer & Dedworth East) said at a corporate overview and scrutiny meeting that the draft budget does not reflect that it will have a “negative impact” on vulnerable, disabled, and financially struggling residents, which goes against the council’s priority in protecting and supporting residents.
She said: “I don’t think what you’re telling residents is the bold truth. If you are wealthy, you are fine.
“If you are healthy, you are fine, but if you haven’t got one or both of those, you will find it really, really, difficult in this borough, and I think you need to spell that out so that everybody knows.”
Interim chief executive Tony Reeves said it was “almost impossible” to set a legally balanced budget in an environment of rising inflation and interest rates without any impacts on residents.
He denied the draft budget paints a ‘rosy’ picture, adding: “I don’t think the council on its own can insulate people from global pressures that are driving the cost of living crisis, creating the conditions for a recession, and a whole host other things we are likely to move in to, according to all of the forecasts.
“But what we can do is to deploy our resource as productively and intelligibly against the council’s priorities in the short-term to set a balanced budget to maintain key services, but also critically to make sure the council is financially robust to be able to lead the borough coming out that crisis.”
Liberal Democrat leader Simon Werner (Pinkneys Green) said the “detrimental” savings that may or may not be achievable will put vulnerable children at risk, adding the budget paints a “scary” picture.
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However, Mr Reeves denied the budget was “scary,” but reiterated it will strengthen the council financially and Royal Borough residents are not immune to the global pressures everyone is facing. He also said they are “confident” the savings proposed are achievable.
“I think what we just heard was pessimism bias,” he added.
Despite a back and forth between Cllr Neil Knowles (OWRA: Old Windsor) and chairman Gerry Clark (Con: Bisham & Cookham), a majority of members voted for the other scrutiny panels to examine and scrutinise certain sections of the budget before it goes to full council in February.
For example, the people scrutiny panel will look at the adults and children’s directorate within the 2023/24 budget.
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But Mr Reeves warned if councillors on the respective scrutiny panels were to change anything in the directorates they are scrutinising it could “distort” the budget and may require further work to repair it.
He also said councillors submitted nearly 160 questions regarding certain elements of the budget, which were answered, and there is a public consultation for people to have their say.
Despite this warning, councillors voted for Cllr Price’s motion, seconded by Cllr Knowles, for the other scrutiny panels to examine the budget.
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