Agenda item

MOTION: LIBRARIES PAY THE PRICE FOR PARKS

Minutes:

Proposed by Councillor Dave Mitchell

Seconded by Councillor Alan Brighouse

 

(1)  Council expresses its concern at the lack of transparency over the use of £500,000 of money, part of a capital allocation previously set aside for essential works to libraries and sports centres, for gardening equipment.

 

(2)  Council strongly believes that, if additional money was required for the purchase of new grass-cutting equipment to meet the shortfall in funding arising from the Labour Cabinet’s decision to keep park maintenance ‘in house’, the Capital Programme should have been increased by an appropriate sum.

 

(3)  Council is dismayed that re-designating £500,000 from the cultural services capital allocation for gardening equipment will deprive other cultural assets of much needed investment.

 

(4)  Council is reminded that, when Labour came back into office, the Leader promised that libraries would be 'safe in their hands'. Council is outraged that, by the evidence so far, the Administration’s management of the council's assets means Wirral’s library buildings, sports centres and museums may now be in danger of neglect and decline.

 

(5)  Council is also reminded that, in 2009, when previously in office, Labour started the process to transfer the Council's Parks maintenance to a private contractor to improve and modernise the service and save money. Yet, when they came back into office in 2011, they did a u-turn on this policy - after around £250,000 had already been spent in preparation work.

 

(6)  The effect of this mismanagement has been to place the Council in a position where it has to incur additional costs or risk not being able to cut the grass in our parks and roadsides.

 

(7)  Finally, Council notes that, had park maintenance been assigned to an external contractor, this half a million pounds of additional costs for equipment would have been built into the contract price as part of a contract and still saved money on the overall cost of providing the service.

 

(8)  Council, therefore, denounces this shocking waste of money by the Labour Administration (already £750,000 on this matter alone and still counting), and their actions, which are putting much loved libraries and sports centres at risk of decline and decay.

 

Amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7(2)

 

Proposed by Councillor Chris Meaden

Seconded by Councillor Phil Davies

 

Delete all and replace with:

 

Council notes that the Capital Programme agreed in December 2009 contained an allocation for Cultural Services Assets which clearly stipulated that Parks formed part of that allocation.

 

Capital spend on the purchase of equipment for the proper maintenance of parks and open spaces is a perfectly acceptable use of such capital and it is absurd to suggest that this money, allocated to parks, has in some way been taken away from money to be spent on libraries or sports centres, which will also receive their own allocation, or will lead to the risk of decline and decay of libraries and sports centres.

 

Council rejects such blatant and distorted electioneering propaganda and condemns an attack on measures needed to ensure the proper protection and improvement of Wirral’s parks and open spaces.

 

In the light of the criticisms raised by the District Auditor over the HESPE contract, Council recognises that the decision not to award a ten year contract privatising Wirral’s Parks and Countryside Services was the correct decision and welcomes the progress made so far to provide an excellent in house service to the people of Wirral.

 

Having applied the guillotine in accordance with Standing Order 7(8) the Council did not debate this matter.

 

The amendment was put and lost (29:36) (One abstention).

 

The motion was put and carried (36:29) (One abstention).

 

Resolved (36:29) (One abstention) –

 

(1)  Council expresses its concern at the lack of transparency over the use of £500,000 of money, part of a capital allocation previously set aside for essential works to libraries and sports centres, for gardening equipment.

 

(2)  Council strongly believes that, if additional money was required for the purchase of new grass-cutting equipment to meet the shortfall in funding arising from the Labour Cabinet’s decision to keep park maintenance ‘in house’, the Capital Programme should have been increased by an appropriate sum.

 

(3)  Council is dismayed that re-designating £500,000 from the cultural services capital allocation for gardening equipment will deprive other cultural assets of much needed investment.

 

(4)  Council is reminded that, when Labour came back into office, the Leader promised that libraries would be 'safe in their hands'. Council is outraged that, by the evidence so far, the Administration’s management of the council's assets means Wirral’s library buildings, sports centres and museums may now be in danger of neglect and decline.

 

(5)  Council is also reminded that, in 2009, when previously in office, Labour started the process to transfer the Council's Parks maintenance to a private contractor to improve and modernise the service and save money. Yet, when they came back into office in 2011, they did a u-turn on this policy - after around £250,000 had already been spent in preparation work.

 

(6)  The effect of this mismanagement has been to place the Council in a position where it has to incur additional costs or risk not being able to cut the grass in our parks and roadsides.

 

(7)  Finally, Council notes that, had park maintenance been assigned to an external contractor, this half a million pounds of additional costs for equipment would have been built into the contract price as part of a contract and still saved money on the overall cost of providing the service.

 

(8)  Council, therefore, denounces this shocking waste of money by the Labour Administration (already £750,000 on this matter alone and still counting), and their actions, which are putting much loved libraries and sports centres at risk of decline and decay.