By Cllr Laura Blumenthal
The Council is uniquely placed in our community to take a bird’s eye view of the Borough as a whole, interacting with people in different stages and aspects of life – from children and schools to care for elderly people.
It also works with local businesses and charities, and plans for future housing, transport and infrastructure.
That’s why being a councillor is such a rewarding role and has the capacity to bring about positive change in our local area. It is also why I have long championed greater diversity of background and thought on the Council, and frequently encourage more younger people and women to consider standing as councillors.
Last year, I was delighted to lead on the Council’s Anti-Poverty Strategy which included a new partnership (the Hardship Alliance) with local charities to prevent and reduce poverty in the Borough.
A huge amount of work was undertaken by officers and councillors. We consulted widely, including on the language used to both make it accessible to all and to preserve the dignity of residents. Some of the aims of the Alliance are to look at reducing the short-term effects of poverty, but it also focuses on poverty prevention and takes a longer-term approach to “ensure fairer and more equal opportunities for all”.
I was disappointed, therefore, that an extra quarter of a million pounds was presented at a Council meeting aimed at helping low-income residents without proper consultation and a total lack of a plan, not to mention any evidence based rationale – £250,000 was a number plucked from the air. This may be well-meaning, but it was not well managed.
The Council under the current Liberal Democrat/Labour Coalition just hadn’t done the work needed to make the most of this money for the people who actually need help and for the people who are paying for it – local taxpayers. We are always being told by the Lib Dems who run Wokingham Borough Council that there is no money. Charges go up and services are cut. But here is a quarter of a million pounds of local taxpayers’ money to spend on we don’t know what exactly.
At a meeting in February with councillors, officers and local charities, we found out that there’s no plan for the money. No direction at all. We were asked what we felt it should be spent on.
This would never happen in the private sector, but it would also never happen in the charitable sector either. The Charity Commission sets out clear guidance on decision making which it says must be led by “focus on information and evidence”.
The Charity Commission also says, “You must not allow your personal motives or prejudices affect how you decide things.” The opposite of what the Lib Dem led Council were asking us to do in the meeting.
Instead, the Council needs to know through data first which actions should be taken that will make a significant difference in poverty prevention and reduction. Then a figure can be reached and a plan for action drawn up.
Any decision to spend a quarter of a million pounds of local taxpayers’ money should be guided by evidence and data on specific resident needs to justify such spending. It should also create lasting and impactful change. The decision on how to spend £1 million of new Household Support Fund money for Wokingham Borough Council hasn’t been taken yet. This Fund is to help those on low-income which makes it stranger that a decision has already been made to take an extra £250k from local taxpayers to fulfil the same purpose.
The fact is the Council has copious amounts of data, which it has spent a great deal of money on, to work out what can really make the difference to our residents, making sure local charities are heavily involved. Just throwing cash at an issue may make us feel better, but without the data and evidence, we have to ask ourselves if we’re actually doing our best to help people.
Liberal Democrat councillors have argued in this paper that this is evidence of their compassion in action. The well-meaning intentions should remain, but much better financial management is needed. Good intentions alone won’t alleviate poverty.
Cllr Laura Blumenthal is shadow executive member for levelling up, equalities and social Housing and ward councillor for South Lake on Wokingham Borough Council
