January 5: Sabre rattling over asylum money
Comments |
IT was a rather an odd press conference at County Hall
today where the ruling Conservative administration laid out its
spending plans for the year.
Odd because in some ways it was all very dull
– other than a bit of sabre rattling over asylum money, which I
will come to.
Read our story on KCC's council tax and budget plans
here>>>
Although it has admitted that it is
confronting potentially the most challenging financial outlook in
decades, council leader Paul Carter seemed
surprisingly upbeat over this year’s budget, asserting to
journalists present that however hard he looked he couldn’t find
any examples of where there were any cuts in frontline services
(don’t worry, I’ve got my fine toothcomb out..).
Even the fact that there will be about 460
jobs going over the next two years – some compulsory redundancies
among them – was regarded as rather ordinary, with chief executive
Peter Gilroy telling the press conference that it was probably no
different to any other years in terms of average turnover.
The fact that thousands of staff are to have a pay freeze was
downplayed, being described as "not ideal".
So, how come, if KCC last year warned of a
£200million black hole over the next three years and 600-to-700
jobs going, things are looking if not good, not quite as desperate
as you might have thought?
Part of the reason is that the authority has
already taken steps to make what are sometimes euphemistically
termed “efficiency savings” of about £65million and has contrived
to do so without wielding the axe over some of its high-profile
services.
The pain, as undoubtedly there will be, will
come in the following two years when, as Cllr Carter admitted, it
is inevitable that KCC will have to stop doing certain things if
the outlook remains bleak. When pressed on what this might entail,
he would not be drawn.
The most eye-catching element is the threat to
push up bills even higher if KCC does not get back money it is owed
to cover the costs of looking after asylum seekers.
When I ventured to suggest that this risked
stoking up resentment against asylum seekers, Cllr Carter said it
was up to the media to report things responsibly. I‘m not quite
sure that if this threat gets picked up by the national press, he
will get his way. I can’t see the Daily Mail
taking a moderate line on the subject and I can already see the
likes of the BNP taking an unhealthy interest.
So why make the threat now when the decision
to set a budget is weeks away? Partly I suspect there is an element
of sabre-rattling here – flagging up the issue in public to assert
a degree of pressure on ministers and focus their mind ahead of a
general election.
It doesn’t take a tremendous leap of
imagination to see some prospective parliamentary election
candidates lining up to make some mileage out of the subject,
although Cllr Carter was at pains to point out that he has held
constructive talks with the immigration minister Phil Woolas on the
issue.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
County Hall spin doctors really played down
the budget with a press release which seemed guaranteed – possibly
deliberately - to induce insomnia among anyone who ventured
past the yawn-triggering headline.
“Kent County Council: Continuing
Excellence A Responsible Budget In Difficult Times”.
Yes, well we did read on but then that’s our
job so you don’t have to.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After
taking a considerable amount of flak over its failure to grit
pavements, it seems KCC has been moved to act
judging by the liberal amounts of grit that have appeared almost
everywhere in the town centre of Maidstone (and, I must report,
outside County Hall).
In fact, so much grit appears to have been
shovelled on to pavements and in shop doorways, that rather a lot
has been trod into shops and offices – including County Hall –
prompting a rather different set of complaints.
Still, I’m guessing most people would rather
have more rather than less activity on this front, even if they do
have to wipe their shoes a bit more.
Tuesday, January 05 2010
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.