Green councillors want people and planet put first in the
council’s budget.
Over 160,000 people live in Reading but there were just 114 responses
to the vague Labour Council budget consultation. Only 21 people agreed with Labour’s
proposals.
Green councillors support some measures in the budget such as
the one-off grant to help those on low incomes manage the council tax increase.
However we are concerned about other elements of the budget.
Complete our brief 4 budget questions survey here to let us know what you think.
We are concerned about the £50,000 cut proposed to the drugs
and alcohol service (business
case here on page 75) with the UK drug related deaths at an all-time high.
The council needs to do more on climate change. We estimate
that the council has been properly insulating less than 50 properties per year
(ones which are not currently well insulated). In Reading we need to be
insulating 4000 homes per year to cut carbon emissions, tackle poverty and
create jobs.
We oppose the cuts to the pay, terms and conditions of
Reading Council staff including some care workers (business
case here on page 99) and the impact this will have on staff morale,
recruiting and retaining staff.
The council’s full budget papers can be found here: https://democracy.reading.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4503
The business cases that go with the budget papers can be
found below. Disappointingly these have not been published by the council
making it impossible for members of the public to understand the budget.
Directorate of Adult Care and Health Services business cases
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6pcnzxptqwj7p4f/Directorate%20of%20Adult%20Care%20and%20Health%20Services%20Business%20Cases%20February%202021.pdf?dl=0
Directorate of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services
business cases https://www.dropbox.com/s/uhrej0gwqq4mvyz/Directorate%20of%20Economic%20Growth%20and%20Neighbourhood%20Services%20Business%20Cases%20February%202021.pdf?dl=0
Directorate of Chief Executive and Corporate Business Cases https://www.dropbox.com/s/iqu1xqorp5mud9g/Directorate%20of%20Chief%20Executive%20and%20Corporate%20Business%20Cases%20February%202021.pdf?dl=0
Remember to complete our brief 4 budget questions survey here to let us know what you think.
