Brighton Council Boss Highlights Problems Caused By Spending Cuts

Proving that there are financial difficulties even in the so called “prosperous South of England”, the leader of Brighton council, Jason Kitcat, has been drawing attention to the spending cuts of 2.8% that will be imposed on the city resulting from a new plan to fund local government.

Some town halls will receive more money, and local government secretary Eric Pickles claimed the new plan to fund town halls represented “a bargain for local authorities”. He added new handed-down responsibilities would give council bosses more incentives to improve their areas.

But politicians across Sussex warned reduced funding would hit services, residents and staff hard. The changes announced take into account the Government transferring a number of powers, such as administering council tax benefit and providing emergency funding to those in need, to local authorities. With town hall finance chiefs breaking down the detail, the full impact is not yet clear.

From April, Whitehall will also allow town halls to keep a portion of business rates collected in their areas, claiming the move “rewards those which improve their communities”. Mr Pickles claimed councils like Brighton and Hove, which had proposed a council tax rise for the coming year, were letting their residents down by “crying wolf”.

He urged local authorities to take advantage of a one-off sum to freeze the rates for 2013/14. The minister also produced a list of “50 ways to save” which he claimed would mean councils were run more efficiently.

But Coun Kitcat said he did not feel government funding should be allocated in a “robotic nature”. He added: “There’s no way a government minster can comprehend the diversity and the needs of areas.

“The only way they can do this is by devolving more power to councils rather than this pretend localism where ministers continue to hold the purse strings.” With more than £20 million of savings to be found, Coun Kitcat said there was some “room to manoeuvre” in the budget plans for next year, which will be discussed by all councillors in February.

In a telling phrase, Coun Kitcat said “We’re not a typical south east city. We’re not a Woking or a Guildford.” This serves to highlight the problem that arises when whole areas of Britain are assumed to have the same high standard of living. Even in the south east of England, there are obviously the haves and the have nots.