The coronavirus crisis has left the finances of Kent County Council (KCC) in a more perilous position than the austerity years of Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.

KCC, along with many other councils in the country, faces one of its biggest economic challenges since the Second World War.

Cllr Peter Oakford (Con), the local authority’s deputy leader, says “difficult decisions” will have to be made when the 81 elected members vote on the emergency budget in three months’ time.

They will be looking to plug a cash gap of between £62million and £143million, representing nearly a quarter of the total savings made by KCC from 2010 to 2020, which was in excess of £710m.

KCC pays millions of pounds of cash for a range of services. They support over 1,000 older people in nursing care homes, a total of 4,900 adults with learning disabilities and 1,600 unaccompanied asylum seeking children aged under 18.

The council also manages 4,100 residential care placements, runs 99 libraries and 84 children’s centres and commissions school transport. However, the future of some of these key services remains uncertain, with some under threat as a second national lockdown looms this week.

Residents have been asked to give their view about the priority services they want to see maintained between April 2021 and April 2022, with KCC’s tax bill expected to hike by 4%.

Councillors will have to take decisive action next February, but backbenchers from across all parties remain deeply divided about the way forward.

Here’s what members had to say from the three main KCC parties, including Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

Conservative

KCC Conservative councillors have said that everything must be on the table in deciding what should be saved and what should be cut.

For several decades the Tories have been the major political powerhouse in Kent. They have achieved sweeping majorities at elections in the Conservative south east stronghold since the 1970s.

In the 2017 vote, they received overwhelming support from residents across the 13 districts as they won 65 seats of the total 81 available, around 80% of the whole membership. Voters return to the polls next May.

Ahead of the election, the Tories have said there is no “sacred cow” to balance the “humongous” budget hole next year, which remains the key priority for the administration.

The Tory-run Northamptonshire County Council effectively declared itself bankrupt in February 2018 when it issued a section 114 notice banning all new spending pledges.

The government appointed commissioners to run the finances of the authority until the council was finally allowed to use £70m of money from land and building sales to cover costs of day-to-day services. Some 17 libraries also shut and cuts made to adult social care.

KCC’s Tories say that they do not want to follow this model, but decisions will have to be reached. Withdrawal of some council services will likely be on the cards as Cllr Sean Holden (Con), of Cranbrook, says: “We must not allow the county council finances to go bust.”

Swale county councillor John Wright (Con), who is deputy chairman of KCC’s scrutiny committee, said he was not in favour of council tax rises as residents from industries such as hospitality, retail and construction struggle for employment amid the pandemic.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK unemployment has jumped to its highest level in over three years and more than 72,000 Kent residents claimed unemployment benefit in September.

On KCC’s budget, Cllr Wright said: “There are no sacred cows. Whether it is going to be libraries or whether its cutting money that goes into highways and social services, it is going to be very messy.

“It's a national issue and something that all councillors did not sign up to."

Former KCC chairman David Brazier (Con), who has been in service of the council for 25 years, said: “We have been discussing what further savings can be made.

"We obviously need to meet our statutory requirements. We have to provide a library service but have 99 libraries and it's possible that we would decide not to have that number and to slowly save money."

Ashford county councillor Paul Bartlett (Con) said town centres remain in urgent need of regeneration while the need for office buildings on KCC’s large estate, which includes hundreds of these sites, should also be reviewed.

Calling on Government support for high street firms, he added: "Retail was dying before the pandemic and Covid has accelerated the disuse of retail spaces.”

Cllr Robert Thomas (Con), the former council leader of Canterbury, said he would “champion” the maintenance of “excellent” leisure spaces and KCC’s nine country parks, which he described as an “important lung” for the county.

“As an accountant, residents can rest assured I’m always looking for the best value for their money and eliminating waste,” he added.

Labour

Labour councillors say KCC must do what it can to prevent cuts to frontline services, such as children centres, highway maintenance, adult social care and youth work.

The Labour party occupies five seats within the current set up at Maidstone County Hall and has put forward some ideas to cover the budget gap, such as reducing costs at backroom level.

Elected members within the group have questioned what has been “hidden” in the budget consultation. Cllr Barry Lewis (Lab) said: “The Tories are trying to hide the plain truth.

“The Conservative government is reducing its support for local councils. Council tax payers will have to pay more for less.”

The Margate member added: “We are the 5th richest country in the world. Why should average people pay for the excess of billionaires?"

Gravesham Cllr Dr Lauren Sullivan (Lab) said the “most telling” part of the consultation was the information missing from it.

She said: “This budget should be about priorities and protecting our frontline services yet it seems that many of the costly elements of the council have been excluded from public view and opinion.”

Cllr Sullivan added: “Should there need to be further cuts, KCC must look first at strategic commissioning, consultants, layers of management bureaucracy, their 'market premiums' and some of the pet projects such as mass data analysis. The public should be able to comment on these aspects too.”

Cllr Karen Constantine (Lab), of Ramsgate, says KCC should look to “twist the arm” of the government for more cash.

She said: “It's not about how we manage services but how we have a national government that does not put enough money into the pots of councils."

Cllr Constantine has also called for a review of future big infrastructure investment projects, complaining about the lack of proper scrutiny around the need for the £34 million Thanet Parkway Station, given the rise of home working.

Lib Dem

Liberal Democrats have questioned KCC's consultation process, saying there are too many unknown factors to decide what financial remedies will need to be made.

They have described the budget gaps as “depressing” reading and say that council service cuts will not be popular with the Kent electorate after 10 years of austerity.

Their leader, Cllr Rob Bird (Lib Dem) said: “The Conservatives seem to be asking Kent residents what services they would like to see cut. As Liberal Democrats we are more interested in preserving our vital services."

West Malling county councillor Trudy Dean (LIb Dem) says it is “impossible” to give a proper answer or assessment about the key decisions that need to be taken right now, given the uncertain factors around Brexit and second Covid lockdown.

She said speculating about the public survey was like “nailing jelly to a ceiling” and said: “I do not think this is helpful to residents or to us because it simply does not give enough detail."

Other Lib Dem members have said the majority of services provided by the county council are essential and must be kept. They describe it as a Tory Government “mess”.

Division, dismay and confusion are some of the key emotive responses from elected members that have emerged from comments on next year’s budget.

It is unclear how residents are supposed to make an adequate judgement on budget priorities when the political parties are at loggerheads about what should happen.

Labour and the Lib Dems have stated that frontline services should not be cut while the Tories seem more open to the prospect, having indicated that, for example, libraries could be for the chop.

There are currently 99 libraries run by KCC but around 68 remain shut because of the pandemic. Will these reopen? And, how much money would that save?

One thing the parties seem to agree on is that the financial position for the council will be desperate next year amid a second Covid lockdown, for at least the next four weeks.

Councillors have stressed the need to continue to lobby the Government for adequate funding, but have also said they do not want to raise council taxes.

This makes sense in light of the context of a KCC election just around the corner in seven months’ time.

There will likely be nerves about the reaction of voters to any cuts to services, but councillors will find it difficult to shy away from making key decisions when the February budget arrives.

Sharpened scrutiny will be on County Hall as Kent’s 1.6 million residents will not want to be hoodwinked over these issues when the key budget vote takes place next year.

People can give their own view via the public consultation, which runs until November 24.

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