Protect Nature to Save Our Libraries
Green Councillors are supporting this Council budget because:
it shows no closures of frontline services,
maintains the real living wage for care workers,
and has savings that means no compulsory redundancies should be needed, and that is what we expect. I’ll spell out more why later on.
We’ve worked with senior officers and many other people, to remove all cuts that concerned us, as initially proposed in this budget - including cuts for prevention services for vulnerable adults, early eviction of Birkenhead market traders, cutting the empty homes service and the climate emergency team. None of those proposals are before us today.
Budget cuts to the library service have been reduced and decisions about closing libraries have effectively been postponed. Postponed until after the Tourism, Culture, Communities and Leisure (TCCL) committee has launched a statutory consultation with the public, which would be months later in the year.
However, we believe this budget can be made fairer and greener, which is why we are moving the Green amendment to Protect Nature to Save Our Libraries.
There is £300,000 in this budget for "Hoylake & West Kirby Beach Maintenance", its page 282 of the pack. That was agreed by a majority of the Environment Committee last April. But since then, the evidence has changed. Councillor Cleary will cover in more detail why this money can no longer be spent in the way it was intended.
So this amendment, our amendment proposes that the £300,000 is repurposed in two ways:
Firstly, £125,000 for much-needed Library provision. To provide more time to Save Our Libraries. Time for TCCL committee to consult and engage with local community organisations.
Secondly, any remaining revenue money - left unspent after facilitating the life boat access - should be allocated to a special reserve to support non-profit organisations that wish to help save their library, in partnership with the Council. This model works across the country in places such as Sheffield and Alt Valley in Liverpool.
Three years ago, I moved a similar legal amendment to Save our much needed Libraries for one year, at budget council meeting held in The Floral. Since then, 6 libraries have closed completely, 7 libraries are still open to the public or young people. Of those to be cut, only two library sites, Pensby and Wallasey Village, have successfully re-opened their doors after a community asset transfer.
So we can all see that successful community partnerships take many months and goodwill on all sides.
The Green amendment means any closure of libraries will be postponed for a whole year. Voting against the Green amendment means many libraries could be closed within 12 months. That’s not a situation we want to risk happening.
So councillors, your political choice is either waste more money destroying nature and probably breaking the law – or protect nature to save our libraries. It really should be a no-brainer.
No compulsory redundancies
On another budget issue we also share the concerns of Unison and Unite, about no compulsory redundancies.
Our valuable, frontline Council workers should not have to pay with their jobs for the wasteful decisions of others. For example, the Council’s decision to build two new office blocks – lovely but mostly empty – when only one would do. The empty space is costing Council taxpayers almost £4 million next year.
However, this budget does not mean workers will be forced out of their jobs, in our view. I hear that at least twice as many Council workers have applied for voluntary redundancy or early retirement than is needed.
To assist departure payments, the Council is borrowing up to £7.5 million from the government next year.
I’d like to thank all our Council workers, every single one, for all the valuable and much-needed work that you do delivering Council services.
If job losses were to be imposed, Council workers - you can count on support from your Green Councillors to defend Council jobs and services. Just like you as you can see in the Green amendment we are moving today. To Protect Nature to Save Our Libraries.
Budget going up by 11%
There is another reason compulsory job losses and closure of services are not needed. The Council budget is actually going up by £45m, which is 11% increase, way more than inflation, which is currently 3%. Yes, there are £25m of savings in this budget. But there’s also £70m of growth.
These are listed by department on page 274 of the pack, the budget by department. It shows the budget increase by department, way above inflation. There is really no need for any for any compulsory redundancies nor for cuts or closures of frontline services.
Every department is getting more money.
1.This financial year, Adults social care and public health budget was £143m. The budget is overseen by the Adults committee, which is chaired by Cllr McManus. Adults overspent by £8m. Next year the Adults budget will be increased by £11m.
2.This year Children’s budget was £97m and the committee is chaired by Cllr Bennett who spoke earlier. They overspent by £10m, mostly on private sector residential providers for Looked After Children. Next year the Children’s budget will also be increased by £11m.
3.The departments of Finance, Law, Corporate and Strategic Holdings had £58m of the Council’s budget this year. Oversight is from the Policy and Resources committee, chaired by the current leader of the Council, Cllr Stuart. The corporate core, the departments closest to the Council’s leadership, they overspent by £3m. Their budget is going up by a massive £21m, to £79m. A huge 36% increase. The corporate core of the Council spending on itself.
4.Neighbourhoods budget was £42m this year, overseen by both Environment and Communities committees overseen by Chairs Cllr Grey and Cllr Lewis. Overspent by £2m and their budget goes up by half a million pounds next year.
5.Regeneration & Place revenue budget for this year was £17m. Its budget basically stays the same next year. Regeneration gets the lions share of the capital programme, while the whole council pays for its debts.
6.Merseytravel’s transport levy is £24m. Wirral Council has 4 reps on Transport Committee - Cllrs Foulkes, Davies, Williamson and Mountney.
Green Councillors excluded
Oh! hmm, what’s missing? Oh yeah, Green Councillors, representing over 20% of voters. We are missing from chairing any committee or on the Transport Committee. Its grossly unfair and it leads to some of the bad decisions that this Council has been making.
Council Tax bills received by residents also collect another:
£26m for the Police
£19m for Waste and recycling
£10m for Fire
£2m for the Combined Authority
So the Council’s overall budget increase of 11%, £45m, shows there’s no financial need for any closures of any frontline services.
Organisational grip not corporate slip
What Wirral Council does need, as the Auditor said very clearly, is better oversight by councillors and organisational grip. Not corporate slip.
As Green councillors, we are very much looking forward to a change in leadership style. A style that is inclusive, fair, and takes responsibility. A style that means that decisions can be changed based on new evidence and decision making that is always based on evidence. A style that welcomes challenge.
Cllr Jo Bird: Its easy to mock the Green amendment as some councillors have shown. [Tory laughter] Its so lovely to speak in this order, because you’ve just proved my point.You just find it so easy to mock, rather than listening to the reasons, the arguments, the evidence.
Some councillors also find it easy to misrepresent. Literally, the amendment says, “any remaining fund, left unspent, after facilitating RNLI operations be allocated to a special reserve” to support libraries. Its like, ‘Which part of that do you not understand?’ Do the black and white words mean something else? Its quite shocking really.
Given all that really, what do you stand for? With the Greens its really simple. We stand for a fairer, greener Wirral. We stand for protecting nature and saving our libraries. Its not that difficult.
Our amendment has been approved and assessed as legal by Council officers and and so on.
We also stand for the fair distribution of tax. Wealth tax is supported by a wide range of trade unions and the TUC, as well as the Green Party. We support a wealth tax on those who own £10 million or more. And the same kind of principle should apply to Council Tax, in due course. The case for reform of Council Tax is very strong. The system has been with us for decades and its well overdue for reform to make it fairer.
Talking of evidence, Councillor Lewis asked for the evidence in support of cycle lanes. A two second search on the internet shows the Liverpool City Region report a few years ago said “7 out of 10 residents in Liverpool City Region would support building more cycle tracks, physically separated from traffic and pedestrians, even if it would mean less room for other road traffic.”
Basically, more people would cycle if there were cycle lanes, because there is separation from the dangerous cars and car drivers, [heckling] as you can see.
Mayor: Let Councillor Bird finish.
We know the Tories are in denial about climate change, the scientific facts of global warming. We all know that the polar icecaps are melting and sea levels are rising. So Hoylake Conservative Councillors have done a great impression tonight of King Canute. Trying to turn back the tide of nature, trying to turn back the laws of nature, not to mention the laws of the land. Risking fines and additional costs for Wirral Council – and we well know the Council can not afford additional costs like that.
Likewise, it was disappointing to hear from the leader of the Council, to hear him immediately dismiss and diaparage the Green amendment, before giving the courtsey of even listening to the debate across all parties. Contrast that with the leader of the Liberal Democrats who very thoughtfully took the time to check the new evidence and to reconsider.
Much of the personal attack, that I’m still getting here from different parties, seems to be based on the fact that the Greens have the temerity, the courage, the bravery, the cheek, the chutspah, to even bring an amendment. To even say that this budget could be fairer and greener. Of course it can.
There is cross party consensus on the budget in an large part and we have worked together with all parties on that too. But there is room for improvement and our amendment would do that. Its our democratic right to bring an amendment.
Its healthy to dissent when needed and to offer a diversity of views.
So I challenge Councillor Stuart as proposer of the revenue budget motion. Can you assure us that no libraries will be closed in the next 12 months?
[No. Cllr Stuart provided no assurance that no libraries will be closed in the next 12 months.]
04.03.25
There’s a previous budget blog at: https://jobird.net/2022/over-100m-still-reserved-by-wirral-council-up-from-67m-in-2020