Unpalatable choices have been forced on all councils as they struggle with increased demand for services, especially in adults and children’s social care, and rising costs in the delivery of those services. Councils across the country have also experienced a long-term decline of central government support. Faced with rising demand, rising costs, and reduced government funding, a growing number of councils have become insolvent.
The new government has sought to offer more support to local authorities, but that support has been focused on those councils where a significant portion of the population are living in deprivation. By this metric, Wokingham appears less in need of support than any other comparable council.
But though need and deprivation are clearly linked, not all need is generated by deprivation. We will continue our efforts to persuade the government that the allocation of revenue support needs to reflect the true costs of providing adult and children’s social care (which currently account for two-thirds of our total spend). Those costs can fall as heavily on councils in areas of relatively low levels of deprivation as they do on councils with a relatively high level of deprivation.
For many years, Wokingham Borough Council has received the lowest level of revenue support from central government of any local authority in England with the same responsibilities. That situation was made more challenging in the latest local government finance settlement, in which we had our ‘core’ revenue support reduced by £1 million.
Our very low level of government support means that we are more reliant than any other comparable council on what we raise locally, mainly through the council tax.
We are very mindful that any increase in the council tax will cause difficulties for some residents. We will, as in previous years, try to support those for whom payment is a struggle.
But we must recognize that the government, as did its predecessor, assumes in its calculation of our Core Spending Power an increase in the council tax to its capped maximum level.
If we don’t increase the council tax to the government’s cap, ministers will conclude that we don’t need even the low level of revenue support that they give us.
And if a council tax increase is foregone, the revenue is lost not just for that year but in perpetuity. The long-term impact can be disastrous.
When they ran the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, the Conservatives held council tax down to boost their popularity, regardless of the increasing cost of services. They ran down council reserves to help pay for daily expenditure. The inevitable consequences are now obvious to everyone. The Royal Borough has used up its reserves and cannot cover its costs. Unfortunately, the new Lib Dem administration in Windsor and Maidenhead is having to deal with a crisis created by the irresponsibility of its Conservative predecessor.
The price of financial failure is high. Central government can intervene to impose swingeing council tax increases and swingeing cuts to services to balance an insolvent council’s books. Everyone would be much worse off.
We are determined to protect our residents from that fate.
In a rare but welcome display of unity, the Conservatives in opposition at Wokingham confirmed in the budget debate that they, too, would have raised the council tax to the government’s cap.
Stephen Conway is the leader of Wokingham Borough Council
