Agenda item

MOTION - CSR AND AUTUMN STATEMENT

Minutes:

Proposed by Councillor Phil Davies

Seconded by Councillor Ann Maclachlan

 

“Council notes:

 

·  During the Comprehensive Spending Review and Autumn Statement the Chancellor performed embarrassing U turns on his plans to remove tax credits to hard working families and to cut the police budget for Merseyside.

 

Council recognises:

 

·  The Government saw the error of its ways in light of strong campaigns, lobbying and protest from the Labour Party, local residents and even the House of Lords, but is dismayed to hear the Government’s commitment to slash services in local authorities wasn’t similarly tempered.

 

·  While we await the final local government allocation, the indications are that a further £126million will be lost from Wirral’s coffers this Parliament, on top of the £151million lost in the previous 5 years.

·  The example set by Conservative Leader of Oxford County Council who set the Prime Minister straight when he told him "I cannot accept your description of a drop in funding of £72m... as a 'slight fall' and the Conservative Chair of Local Government Association who said the Spending Review was “a knockout blow to cherished local services”.

 

Council Resolves:

 

·  To condemn these cuts which mean Wirral residents and businesses will have seen a quarter of a billion pounds pinched from their pockets by this Government between 2010 and 2020.

 

·  To write to the 4 Wirral MPs to ask them to lobby government for a fairer deal for Wirral residents.”

 

An amendment which had been circulated in advance of the meeting was submitted in accordance with Standing Order 12(1) and (9), as follows:

 

Proposed by Councillor Phil Gilchrist

Seconded by Councillor Alan Brighouse

 

“Add the following after the two bullet points (under 'Council Resolves'):

 

·  To work with Wirral’s MPs to challenge the assumptions and interpretations built upon the OBR’s ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’ and the forecast for ‘local authority self-financed expenditure' as set out on Page 58 and 59 in the ‘Blue Book’ Spending Review and Autumn Statement.

 

·  To take part in the consultation the DCLG offers on the settlement and to establish whether the settlement and formula have any relationship to the House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 7327 ‘Deprivation in English Constituencies’ published in October 2015.

 

·  To highlight the practicalities of securing the growth in business rates given that part of that growth is already to be reinvested within the Enterprise Zone.

 

·  To highlight the limited sums that can be raised based on the proportion of properties in lower bands compared to other areas and its implications for police funding.

 

·  This time to take up the offer again made by the Liberal Democrat Group to assist and join in making representations and lobbying.”

 

Having applied the guillotine in accordance with Standing Order 9 the Council did not debate the matter.

 

The proposer of the original motion, Councillor Phil Davies, agreed acceptance of the amendment and moved the vote, which was duly seconded by Councillor A McLachlan.

 

One abstention – Councillor Les Rowlands.

 

Resolved (41:17) (One abstention) – That

 

Council notes:

 

·  During the Comprehensive Spending Review and Autumn Statement the Chancellor performed embarrassing U turns on his plans to remove tax credits to hard working families and to cut the police budget for Merseyside.

 

Council recognises:

 

·  The Government saw the error of its ways in light of strong campaigns, lobbying and protest from the Labour Party, local residents and even the House of Lords, but is dismayed to hear the Government’s commitment to slash services in local authorities wasn’t similarly tempered.

 

·  While we await the final local government allocation, the indications are that a further £126million will be lost from Wirral’s coffers this Parliament, on top of the £151million lost in the previous 5 years.

 

·  The example set by Conservative Leader of Oxford County Council who set the Prime Minister straight when he told him "I cannot accept your description of a drop in funding of £72m... as a 'slight fall' and the Conservative Chair of Local Government Association who said the Spending Review was “a knockout blow to cherished local services”.

 

Council Resolves:

 

·  To condemn these cuts which mean Wirral residents and businesses will have seen a quarter of a billion pounds pinched from their pockets by this Government between 2010 and 2020.

·  To write to the 4 Wirral MPs to ask them to lobby government for a fairer deal for Wirral residents.

 

·  To work with Wirral’s MPs to challenge the assumptions and interpretations built upon the OBR’s ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’ and the forecast for ‘local authority self-financed expenditure' as set out on Page 58 and 59 in the ‘Blue Book’ Spending Review and Autumn Statement.

 

·  To take part in the consultation the DCLG offers on the settlement and to establish whether the settlement and formula have any relationship to the House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 7327 ‘Deprivation in English Constituencies’ published in October 2015.

 

·  To highlight the practicalities of securing the growth in business rates given that part of that growth is already to be reinvested within the Enterprise Zone.

 

·  To highlight the limited sums that can be raised based on the proportion of properties in lower bands compared to other areas and its implications for police funding.

 

·  This time to take up the offer again made by the Liberal Democrat Group to assist and join in making representations and lobbying.