Green Councillors have released their proposals ahead of todays annual Budget Council meeting laying out ways the Greens would seek to make changes to the present budget.
They argue a spend to save approach to the budget would net the Council an additional £2 million and prevent cuts to essential services.
Their spend to save, approach focusses on the following set of priorities:
♦ Spending to save money: focusing on the value of prevention
♦ Homelessness and temporary accommodation
♦ Getting serious about value for money: Contract management
♦ Raising income through fairer budget redistribution
♦ A long-term approach
Greens maintain their calculations show that the Council would obtain an additional £2 million income should they support the Green approach.
This would more than offset the current plans to cut key services such as Community Youth Work, Early Help, Third Sector Investment, Supported Buses and Community Safety. It would also create the finance to save potential cuts to Allsorts Youth Project and the LGBT/Hate Crime specialist officer in the Council’s Partnership Community Safety Team, which is the last remaining dedicated LGBT post at the Council.
Convenor of the Green Group, Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, said: “We hope by making it clear in our document that everyone can see the sound and reasoned approach we are taking. All the evidence supports the fact that if you cut services you will inherit problems in the future. This is why we are committed to a different approach, putting prevention at the heart of our proposals.
Our approach requires all parties to put the evidence about prevention being better than a cure ahead of their concerns about making savings in this financial year. While we can only make amendments, and they will no doubt be challenged, our paper is about our challenge to the Tory mantra of cuts and our push for bold alternatives to protect those most at risk.”
To read the budget document which sets out and evidences the rationale underpinning each of the Green proposals, click here:
You must be logged in to post a comment.