Budget

The build up to the infamous budget setting council meeting begins. The Tories have published their actual budget proposals. Huge cuts despite a reasonable government settlement in order to fund their flagship policy of ten percent discount to all pensioner households (not already in receipt of benefits or have only over 65’s living in the household). Very welcome to the pensioners concerned but is it a good use of council tax payers money or is it as I feel cutting services to the majority to benefit a group, who according to national data already have better incomes than most families……? Pensioners do need support and are deserving but not in the way that cuts services or denys fair access to services for the majority of the cities citizens.

I wonder if it is not a just a healthy bribe to the usually conservative voting public. Or am I just being over cynical, as Labour politician I am naturally suspicious of the Conservatives motives. Despite the moves to the centre away from the right I do not believe, that Tory party locally fundamentally believe in “society”, protecting it or creating social change that enables fair access to local services. As, despite my own parties lurch to the centre ground in the past ten years, it does still believe in shaping a fairer society and will try to implement those policies, when it returns to power locally.

Since I last wrote some shameful corporate policy has emerged in the ward I represent, Bitterne. You may remember that there was some trouble with the bus travel in and around Thornhill leading to the bus companies withdrawing buses. Well since last summer and to my knowledge incident free months. A bus company is withdrawing routes from the area, denying residents;
regular travel through Thornhill,
quality services to residents
potential access at the weekends to local shopping facilities.

I am pleased to say that local residents have got up a petition and this is being supported by local councillors . The frustrating thing that until the new transport act comes in to force there is little local politicians can do to influence the bus companies. As they hold all the cards as to subsidies they are paid from the authority to run services. All the bus companies have dragged their heals on installing data logging equipment to enable more accurate monies to paid to them and funding is based on the bus companies own estimates on the numbers of users. The contracts between the authority and the companies do not allow authority to have any great influence on routes or service quality. In fact until the new Transport act which will give local authorities more power in all areas of transport, the bus companies hold the ends of some very short and curly local authority hairs.