Local Government Finance

I pay tribute to the Government for the increase in local government finance of 20 per cent. on average nationally that they have provided over 10 years and for the three-year settlement, which is welcome. It provides some certainty as well as scope for considerable growth over time. As my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Jim Cousins) said, it focuses the spotlight on the competence of not only central Government but local government. I shall please the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) by using Hammersmith and Fulham as an example of the way in which councils can go off the rails. Before I do that, I cannot resist commenting on the remarks of the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy). She related again the story of the magic money tree, in which the amount of money from central Government was too little, the council tax was too high and services were too stretched. Given all those parts of the equation, from where do Liberal Democrats expect the money to come, except out of taxpayers' pockets? It is always their way, but I thought that, given that they have had some experience of government locally, even though they have none nationally, they would be less naive in proposing such policies. In response to the interest that the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst showed in what happens in west London, yes, it is possible to maintain and improve services while keeping council tax increases low, as was done under a Labour Government and a Labour council for nine years. As I said, the average increase in that time was 3 per cent. in council tax against 7 per cent. for London or nationally. Even with a tighter settlement, 3 per cent. efficiency savings and some difficulty, it should be possible to continue to protect council services. Yet, as I have said, the council cabinet in Hammersmith and Fulham will tonight agree £36 million of cuts. I doubt whether that figure will be equalled by any other local authority in the country. It is a rejection of the increases in funding that the Government have provided over years. That may not be as bad as it sounds because, when one examines the detail, £12 million is described as efficiencies from outsourcing. I am not sure what sort of bank loan one would get if one asked for £12 million on the basis of such a one-line comment. Every contract that has been let—a £10 million refuse contract is being let tonight—has come in over budget. The chances of achieving any of those savings is therefore slim. There is a figure of £2.5 million for savings from debt reduction. Yet only 25 per cent. of the asset sales have been achieved so far, against officer advice that many of the sales were to the detriment of the local authority. Perhaps that should be cause for a cheer because those cuts will not go ahead. However, because the budget is being set in a way that demands such cuts, those perhaps innocent-sounding cuts will now constitute further cuts in front-line services and services for vulnerable people. The authority had its comprehensive performance assessment almost a year ago. It has not been published because the authority is challenging, for the third time, its content, on the basis—I assume—that it is not happy with the findings. Last week, an arm's length management organisation in the authority was given one star, with poor prospects of improvement. If that is not turned around in the next year, decent homes money of tens of millions of pounds will be lost to council tenants. The overall effect for my constituents will include a 40 per cent. increase in meals on wheels charges; a 50 per cent. increase in parking charges in some areas; all charges, including rents, increasing by at least twice the rate of inflation; charges for recycling; a consultation on charging for home helps, despite an assurance to the contrary in the manifesto less than two years ago; the sale of assets from youth clubs, community centres, homeless hostels and secondary and primary schools; the closure of public toilets; the cutting of maintenance for pavements, again against officer advice; the cutting of the play schemes subsidy; the cutting of grants for school uniforms for poorer families, and for music and drama awards; the closure of reference and mobile libraries; an overall cut of up to 25 per cent. in voluntary sector budgets; the withdrawal of home help services for 1,400 people; and the sacking of 166 home helps. In addition, concierge services on housing estates will be reduced and residential caretaker services ended, even though they are the main measures that control crime and antisocial behaviour on estates, and there will be a 5 per cent. year-on-year cut in the housing revenue account budget. I appreciate that such levels of cuts—or abominations—are not typical even of Conservative authorities; all that I would say to the Opposition is that if they wish to disown them, they now have an opportunity to do so. If they wish to associate themselves with those cuts, that will be the sort of standard in public services expected of them if they ever get back into government.