Walsall Council budget a 'kick in the teeth' for residents, says opposition

Walsall Council cabinet’s corporate budget plan for the next three years was confirmed at a meeting of the full authority on February 25.

As part of the proposals, £29 million will be slashed from the budget for the 2021/22 year while council tax bills will rise by 4.99 per cent.

The proposal was described as a “kick in the teeth” for residents by Walsall Labour group leader Aftab Nawaz, who along with his Liberal Democrat counterpart Ian Shires and other opposition members voted against the budget.

They argued that residents were paying more in tax for reduced services as a result of a decade of Government austerity measures.

But Walsall Council leader Mike Bird hit back at critics for offering no alternatives during the process. He also said Whitehall had given £161 million in grants to support the borough during the Covid crisis.

He added the council tax rise amounted to 16p a day for residents in Band A properties which, he said, represented “good value-for-money” for the services provided.

The 4.99 per cent increase includes three per cent ring-fenced for social care services.

Councillor Nawaz said: “The controlling administration can and would probably ignore any amendment to the make up of the budget if we were to pass it tonight.

“This budget is owned by this Conservative administration and it is based on their priorities. We would do things differently.

“The budget put in front of us proposes £29m cuts to Walsall and the past decade has seen year on year cuts. A total of £106m of cuts – a staggering figure.

“This is a kick in the teeth for Walsall residents. On top of this we have a proposed five per cent hike on council tax.

“Residents pay more and more and get less and less. This is in the main due to the Government cutting again and again and deeper and deeper.

'Burden'

“The residents in Walsall are seen as easy pickings for Government cuts and that is totally wrong. They have the burden of paying for services squarely on their shoulders.

“When the council tax bills arrive and Boris’ bombshell lands, our residents will be rightly angry, frustrated and devastated.”

Councillor Shires added: “We all know this council has been nowhere near fully compensated for what Covid has cost in extra expenditure and lost income.

“In a sleight of hand, the Government has shifted blame away from itself and on to local councils, while at the same time telling the councils they have given billions to meet their needs.

“This budget is full of bling projects designed to catch the attention of the media.

“It’s a budget full of cuts in all the wrong places and it fails to give the people of Walsall the changes and engagement needed for them to reimagine their futures.”

Councillor Bird said they had met their legal requirement to balance the budget and would invest significantly in front-line services.

He said: “People who have criticised this budget all have an input into scrutinising the budget. And what did they offer in that scrutiny? Zero.

“Absolutely nothing because they are devoid of ideas. Where is your alternative? You haven’t got one.”

“They criticise the Government for not doing enough but in Walsall we’ve had £161 million of grants.

“As a result, I think we’ve saved many businesses and we should be proud of what we have achieved.”