Skip to main content

Budget 2005/6 more details

Our budgetary proposals have been welcomed across the city. People recognise that we are acting on the issues that they are concerned about. They also welcome our movement towards more cost effective governance.

  • More money for Social Care. The budget goes up by 11%, sustantially more than the increase from Central Government.
  • The fourth option for Housing. Birmingham and Cambridge (Lib Dem Run) have both committed to providing the resources for the fourth option.
  • Park Keepers - 1 Park keeper for each district.
  • Bus Wardens - bus patronage has been going down because of difficulties with the service.
  • Kerbside collection for recycling not just paper.
  • More support for Apprentice type training
  • A system to stop the council losing messages
  • More effective action on graffiti, flyposting and dumping.

All in all, a Cleaner, Greener and Safer City than under Labour and with one of the lowest council tax increases in the country at 2.8%.

What we must do, however, is to continue the process of concentrating on cost-effective, front line services. For example decisions need to be taken taken on the basis of value for money not just whether it can be paid for from the budget.

This will enable us to make sure that we do a better job with same resources.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NHS reorganisation No 3,493,233

Followers of my blog will have seen the NHS question about how many reorganisations have we had. We've yet another. The number of PCTs (Primary Care Trusts) nationally is to halve. This means merging East and North. (and then probably HoB and south). It would be nice if people would stick with one structure. There is a quotation ( Which sadly does not appear to be a true quotation ) We trained hard . . . but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization. But has to have been originated by someone. The web link shown goes through the derivation which appears to be more linked to an anonymous British Soldier WW2 than any Roman or Greek General called by a name perming 2 out of (Gaius, Galus, Petronius and Arbiter). From the...