Dudley Council 'will not go bankrupt' but tough choices have to be made, says leader
"Tough choices will have to be made" but Dudley Council is nowhere near bankruptcy, the authority's leader has declared.
Fears council housing repairs were stopped due to Dudley Council being on the brink of financial collapse were scotched by the Conservative leader Councillor Patrick Harley, who called the rumours "hysteria" spread by Labour politicians.
He told the Express & Star: "This is total hysteria spread by the Labour group. We are nowhere near bankruptcy, we are nothing like Birmingham Council and other socialist authorities up and down the country.
"We will have to make tough decisions, cut our cloth accordingly but we have choices that can be made, unlike Birmingham and the 198 councils which are in a worse position than Birmingham."
However, Labour's top team warned the council finances are in "meltdown" and cited a report being put before the cabinet tomorrow as evidence the authority's finances are in a perilous position.
Council finance chiefs could implement radical financial controls, including no new contracts, no additional spend, a freeze on recruitment and the termination of fixed-term contacts.
Councillor Shaukat Ali, Labours Finance Lead, said: "We know that external auditors have identified significant weaknesses in the Tory-run council's ability to manage its finances.
"It's a disgrace that while they can spend hundreds of thousands of pounds of our money on a 'business trip' to Cannes - which has yet to deliver any tangible investment - they cannot balance the books back in Dudley."
Labour leader Councillor Pete Lowe added: "We are seeing first-hand the impact of years of reckless decisions made by Dudley's Tories. We have a social care crisis, a council housing crisis and now, very clearly, a financial crisis.
"They just cannot be trusted with our money. The cupboard is empty and they haven't a clue what to do. The sooner we can get a council leadership that prioritises the interests of residents and businesses over their own self-interest, the better."
Chairperson of Dudley Federation of Tenants and Housing Associations Martin Smith was shocked when he saw the state of the council's finances.
He said: "I am worried there will be no repairs sanctioned, when you look at the council's assets it is really worrying. The report to the cabinet makes for scary reading."
However, council leader Harley said: "It is total rubbish to say housing repairs have stopped, of course they have not. The problem we have is costs for adult social care and looked-after children have rocketed.
"We have invited in a peer group of experts who have been where we have been and they are advising us. Labour complain about there being no cross-party discussions but when they act like this, how can we even trust them?
"They are not serious politicians if they are spreading these 'meltdown' rumours."
