Labour is wasting money nationally and locally in Lambeth

Labour Lambeth has rejected a lawful alternative Conservative budget that would have cut Council Tax by 1.5 per cent to help hard pressed residents hit by the government’s failure to manage the economy.

Building on the example shown by Mayor Boris at City Hall, the Conservative budget proposed wide ranging efficiency savings with the elimination of “non jobs,” cuts in the wasteful publicity budget, and reductions in allowances paid to Labour Cabinet members.

At the same time, the Conservative budget maintained front line services and care for the elderly, disabled and vulnerable children and offered help to small businesses struggling to survive under an uncaring Labour government.

“Our Budget for People included £2 million more for road and pavement repairs, more investment in libraries, parks, and open spaces and £150,000 more for the youth service,” says Conservative Group Leader Councillor John Whelan.

“The Labour budget by contrast offered little for libraries and parks and no extra expenditure on the youth service.  This comes on top of the highest rent rises in the country – 17 per cent – with the average Council Tax now £1,235.  Labour even voted against our proposal to pay small businesses working for the Council in 10 days instead of a month.”

Rosendale Road Shopping Parade will benefit from a new pavement after lobbying by Conservative councillors

Figures from the Taxpayers Alliance show that in 2007-2008 Lambeth Council employed 335 people on salaries of more that £50,000 – some of them with five weeks holiday a year – costing a total of £22 million without taking into account their generous final salary pensions and other benefits.

Councillor Whelan adds:  “Spending on “consultants and agency staff” is out of control at Lambeth Council, but the Labour budget has delayed taking any immediate action.  Typically, a department hires a temp from an agency to do the photocopying for the summer while permanent staff are on leave – two years later the agency temp is still there.”

The Conservative budget proposed scrapping the fortnightly “Lambeth propaganda sheet” Lambeth Life saving £400,000 a year.

“When Boris took office one of his first actions was to abolish Livingstone’s pet newspaper “The Londoner” and spend the money instead on planting new trees,” says Councillor Whelan.

“That hopefully will be the shape of things to come if Labour lose office in Lambeth at the next elections in 2010.”

Gipsy Hill councillor Graham Pycock said:  “The library has been here for 110 years; how can Lambeth possibly lose it?”

On the Norwood version of this publicity document, West Norwood Library is praised as Norwood’s only library with Upper Norwood Joint Library receiving no mention.

Graham adds: “When I tackled the publicity department about this they implied that this was deliberate policy. I was told: -

‘However, although UNJL is funded by Lambeth and Croydon, it is not a recognised part of either borough’s statutory provision and as such it would be anomalous to infer that it was or advertise it in publicity that is specific to either borough, particularly because Lambeth has no input or responsibility for the policies or activities of the UNJL.’

“This is crackers. The library is a public service funded out of taxes and should be fully promoted.”

There is obvious resentment in Lambeth Council about Upper Norwood’s superb service and excellent performance figures.  The previous Conservative-Lib Dem administration in Lambeth between 2002 and 2006 saved the Upper Norwood Joint Library with a massive £55,000 increase in funding.  With Labour back in Lambeth, they have frozen the library’s budget again.  There was a crisis two years ago with threatened redundancies, but Croydon Council has been increasing its budget annually after years of neglect under Labour, so that there has been some improvement in security.

As the local councillors for the Upper Norwood Joint Library, Graham, Suzanne Poole and Andrew Gibson we have continued to press both councils to honour the joint agreement and restore full funding to the library.  Lambeth has refused each year since 2006 even an increase for inflation, but Conservative councillors continue to press for joint talks between the two councils to agree reliable funding while retaining the operational independence, which has served Upper Norwood Joint Library users so well.

Lambeth Labour are slashing sports funding

Almost £1million worth of spending cuts are to be made to sports provision, libraries and parks in Lambeth.

Labour are set to reduce community sports programmes and slash previously planned investment in libraries and parks to save £995,000.

Secret town hall documents, leaked to a local newspaper, revealed the council plans to make the harsh spending cuts between now and March 2008. It reveals plans to:

• Cut £250,000 to oversee plans for developing leisure centres in the borough.
• Cut £200,000 worth of sports development jobs to run community sports programmes for kids, pensioners and other groups.
• Cut maintenance budget for sports facilities by £100,000
• Scale back the sports booking service.

It means a planned expansion of the council’s community sports programme has been binned, but none of the already scheduled activities will be affected.

The plan will also see less park rangers employed to look after the borough’s parks, and cash allocated for floral displays like hanging baskets axed.

Libraries will also suffer, with cash earmarked for new IT facilities and special events axed as part of the council’s cultural services recovery plan.

Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor John Whelan, said: “If this is a recovery plan then it’s likely to kill off the patient.

“At a time when there is national concern about rising levels of obesity among young people, the borough is cutting its commitment to providing sports facilities by £600,000.

“Further cuts are going to put libraries and parks under threat.”

“Labour commissioned a Review of Libraries in 2006, but some two years later the report is still gathering dust on a shelf,” says John.  “Since then nearly all the senior officers who were leading the service have voted with their feet and left the Council.

“Libraries in Lambeth are under threat of closure once again given the financial holocaust facing the administration.  Leaving a service to wither on the vine is usually the first step to axing it.”