Bradford Council is expected to make £40m worth of cuts in the next three years – with household waste sites, an outdoor activity centre and 113 jobs likely to face the chop.
Council Tax will rise by nearly five per cent, and fees in Council run facilities such as car parks are also expected to rise.
And the cuts may still not be enough to prevent the Council from effectively declaring bankruptcy – bosses are still in dialogue with Government for “exceptional financial support” that would allow the Authority to balance a budget that is expected to overspend by around £72m this year.
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UNISON has also warned that the proposals made to tackle the financial problems the council is experiencing will have a “profound impact” on services people rely on. The union has also said it understands dozens of jobs are at risk.
On Wednesday (January 3), the Council announced its latest plans to deal with a financial crisis that could see the Authority issue a 114 notice – effectively saying it is not able to balance its books.
The first wave of cuts will go out to public consultation next week, and Bradford Council Leader has warned that there could be further waves of cuts in the coming months. The cuts will lead to the closures of household waste centres in Ford Hill (Queensbury), Sugden End (Cross Roads), and Golden Butts (Ilkley).
Ingleborough Hall, a Council run children’s outdoor activity centre in North Yorkshire, is likely to be sold. Leisure centres and libraries will be reviewed, with £60,000 of cuts expected in 2024-25 rising to £1.25m by 2025-26, with a report saying: “Reductions of this scale are likely to impact on the overall number of swimming pools, gyms and indoor recreation centres.”
This review will look at whether a planned Leisure Centre in Squire Lane – which has been allocated £20m of Government funding, “should go ahead.”
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And the Council hopes to bring in about £10m through the sale of assets including buildings and land. Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said there will be no cuts to Children’s Services, despite the fact that the Bradford Children’s Trust is predicting an overspend of £49m in the current year.
The Council is in consultation with Government asking for “extraordinary financial support” that would allow it to borrow money to balance its budget, and use money raised from asset sales – which can normally only be used on capital projects, on funding services.
If this support is not given, the Council will likely become the latest in a line of local authorities to effectively declare bankruptcy. A report going to the Council’s Executive next week describes the 2024-25 budget as “the most difficult that the Council has experienced to date.”
In a briefing today (Weds) with the Telegraph & Argus, Cllr Hinchcliffe said: “None of this gives me any pleasure. No Councillor comes into Government to make cuts, and we’ve had so many cuts over the years – over £350m. This is the next stage of Government austerity.
(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)
“Over the next four to five years what we’re looking at is becoming a much smaller Council – employing fewer people and providing fewer services. That’s what the Government have decided by deciding not to adequately fund Councils or Children’s Services.
She said after the cuts there would still be one waste centre in each of the District’s constituencies. In recent months the huge financial problems facing the Council have become clearer.
Last month Bradford Council announced that efforts to balance the budget would not be enough by themselves, and without “exceptional” Government support, the authority will have to issue a Section 114 notice – meaning the Council is essentially bankrupt.
Councils legally have to balance their budgets at the end of each financial year, and a report into finances in December said Bradford Council is unlikely to achieve this. The budget gap for the current financial year was £73m and the predicted gap for next year will be £103m.
(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)
A report on the cuts will go before the Council’s Executive on Thursday 11, after which a public consultation on the plans will begin.
Cllr Hinchliffe told the Telegraph & Argus: “If anyone has ideas on how money can be saved, we’re willing to listen. This will be an exceptionally hard year for us.
“We recognise people find our services valuable. We know this is not what people want, but we have no choice due to the huge pressure on adult and children’s social care.”
She said projects that received funding from other sources, such as the Government funded Transforming Cities Fund that will see Hall Ings pedestrianised and a new entrance to Bradford Interchange created, would still go ahead, as that money was ring fenced.
A government funded rail station planned for the city centre will also be unaffected.
Bradford’s City of Culture celebration in 2025, which is being run separately from the Council, would not be hit by the cuts. Cllr Hinchliffe said: “They have managed to raise at least £30m on their own. It is right that this fantastic year of culture runs. We need growth to tackle poverty.”
The cuts have been heavily criticised by the union, UNISON.
UNISON Bradford branch secretary Linda Crowther said: “Vital services have already been stripped back as a result of years of underfunding for local councils. The people of Bradford have already suffered and it’s due to get far worse.”
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Michael Parkinson added: “Like other councils across the country, Bradford has already seen staff levels slashed. But these services can’t run on thin air.
“Communities rely on the council to provide vital services and they’ll be the ones who suffer from this restructure. The blame for this situation lies in Westminster. Central government has continued to gouge away at financial support for local government.
“UNISON is urging the council to hold fire on any significant changes until after a general election. Hopefully a Labour government will offer better support to navigate the difficult period ahead.”
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