Having presented the budget at Executive Board in February, a late award of nearly £500,000 meant the Labour Group had to re-evaluate its budget plans. A new Council tax increase of 4.44% has been set.
Both the Liberal Democrats and the Tories, with new leaders and new aspirations set nationally, were challenged to demonstrate the new aspirations locally - the Liberal Democrats to open their ideas to public scrutiny, the Tories to show a new reformed approach in line with David Cameron’s statement of values. Both failed.
The notes for my speech to full Council follows.
There are also notes on the budget and its presentation at Executive Board.
Last May, the Labour Party won an historic 3rd consecutive General Election.
A growing economy.
More people in work.
School results up.
Waiting lists cut.
Crime falling.
A good record. Yet the election campaign was a slog.
Maybe it didn’t even feel like a victory at all.
And you wondered?
Perhaps the Tories had laid a foundation for the next election?
Perhaps people really could hear their dog whistles?
Perhaps the Liberal Democrats had laid a foundation for the next election?
Perhaps they’d established themselves as the nice party.
Well, maybe not so nice after all.
If both parties had laid foundations, then in recent weeks, the both parties have had to disregard them.
Now what’s the approach for the Liberal Democrats? More economic liberalism? Going Orange? ”Bold new ideas that are scrutinised”.
Do we get to see the new Liberal Democrats today?
It’s clear you haven’t offered your budget ideas up for public scrutiny.
Since the requirement placed upon the majority group to publish our budget proposals 2 weeks earlier, neither you or the Tories, have not chosen to publish your proposals any sooner.
We have some hints from the Evening Post coverage – you must have thought you’d get some easy points by opposing a festival to celebrate the New Market Square.
Some surprise then, when even the Evening Post had to explain to you how significant the return of the Market Square will be. “There is no need for a full-blown Scrooge routine”.
I wonder if in your presentation, you’ll be able to give your ideas added weight by showing how Liberal Democrats have added value at the Council this year?
As a member of the Executive Board, I have to say I have been under-whelmed.
We will of course listen today to your amendments.
But you’ve given no forewarning and you’ve ducked any public scrutiny.
What about the Tories? Against a festival too. And it seems against anything to promote reputation.
Well, try telling that to the councils in Kent and Westminster.
Indeed, try telling that to Wollaton West Councillors, who authorised the publication of an Area 7 newsletter printed on pale blue background.
Intriguing that spending more - sometimes in partnership with the private sector - to make businesses, visitors and students feel more secure about choosing Nottingham, would not be worthwhile.
Solve the problem and the reputation will solve itself, might be the rejoinder.
But gun crime in Nottingham is down 75% in a year. Yet we’re still called “gun crime city” by the “we’ve got a slot to fill” media.
We must take a lead in correcting misunderstandings about the quality of life in our city.
I don’t believe for a minute that the Tories think managing a reputation is not important.
Nationally, you’re doing nothing but.
Indeed, maybe today, we will see that the Tory party are trying to change.
In favour now, I understand, of the National Health Service.
Certainly, it would save us a lot of time and energy if the debates were about what is right for a 21st century city in a globalised economy, rather than rebutting a vision of an atomised society in an isolationist country.
So let us rejoice – that the Tory party believes “There is such a thing as society”. Announced last week.
‘Just rejoice, at that news.’
We will listen carefully to how the Nottingham Tories pitch the new messages, published last week.
We’ll listen for the tone and conviction –
as you pronounce “To improve the quality of life for everyone”;
as you declare for “A strong society”;
as you shout for “A sustainable environment, where we enhance the beauty of our surroundings and protect the future of the planet.”
So that’s a vote for Nottingham in Bloom then.
The next quote is particularly pertinent given the debate on the tram.
“The quality of life matters, as well as the quantity of money.” You’d think the Nottingham Tories would have got the message.
Here’s one – “We have a shared responsibility for our shared future.” Hey, that means you can join in more Council initiatives and events! Just a thought.
“We are an open and inclusive Party.”
Please Georgina, sing it to us today.
Let your heart be happy.
The end of the nasty party!
None of the unremitting misery today! Or the dog whistles, from the new Conservative party.
Now granted, it might be a bit difficult to avoid the ‘nasty’ label if you choose to share benches with fascist parties in the European Parliament. Could be tricky.
But we don’t want to be dismissive today.
No today, we want to see the political ground shift in Nottingham, as we understand may have happened in Westminster.
We want to see it and hear it for ourselves, from you.
The point for the Labour Party, you’ll notice, is not to dismiss your conversion.
Cos, potentially, it’s a new challenge to us, and for us.
Yes, comrades, here comes the New Labour bit.
Really, such a message of reform from our government. Challenging. Relentless. Almost a permanent revolution.
And we look forward to that revolution being applied to Whitehall.
We have responded.
Ambitious for this city. Consistently so. The Royal Centre. The National Ice Centre. The tram. “Turning Point”. And now the New Market Square. So much for taking out those traffic lights.
Proud of this city. Unlike Tory parliamentary candidates from Mapperley Park.
Responsive to public concern through “Respect for Nottingham” – the best campaign of its type in the country.
Personally recommended by the Prime Minister – who suggested David Cameron’s problem was being Notting Hill when he should be Nottingham.
Using the enforcement measures opposed by the Liberal Democrats.
Radical – the best public transport outside of London, where even Thatcherites wouldn’t deregulate the buses.
Aspirational – the best ever exam results in the city.
And serving people better.
Three-quarters of our performance indicators improved in the first two years. 80% of performance indicators are better or the same as last year.
And beyond indicators - some great successes in the world of culture.
Progress for Wollaton Hall. Progress for the Centre for Contemporary Arts.
Hosting the pre-Raphaelite exhibition – recognised by the Leicester Mercury.
And the Bolshoi Ballet is coming to Nottingham.
But the challenges have been repeated again and again by government, and by other agencies –
- be ambitious,
- focus on priorities,
- develop the capacity to do the job,
- manage your performance and listen to what the indicators and what your customers tell you;
- achieve;
- demonstrate even more value for money.
Today we present a budget, which despite significant financial challenges, sees £4 million of new services, more services and services of a higher specification.
The challenges we face include -
- wage increases of 3%,
- price inflation,
- dramatic fuel price increases,
- the third instalment of equal pay,
- picking up from Primary Care Trusts, Supporting People and Neighbourhood Renewal Funds.
All covered within the new grant and existing Council tax. Made possible by a combination of efficiencies and savings worth £4.5 million per annum.
That £4.5 million alone would require a 5.4% Council tax increase. Avoided by our resolve to do better with existing resources, and to stop doing things when the public have moved on.
This budget therefore offers dramatic value for money.
The growth in grant is a statement of investment by the Labour Government.
It compares well with Tory Governments in the nineties who asked us to make do with cash increases below the rate of inflation.
Contrast that with a 6.8% increase for every child’s education. This is a clear expression of the Labour Party’s political priorities.
£6.6 million extra for the running of Nottingham’s schools.
This extra money comes with challenges too -
- expectations on Key Stage 2 results in general;
- expectations on minimum attainment at Key Stage 3,
- better vocational education for 14-19s and
- adopting “Every Child Matters”.
So nothing for free, and the programme of primary school re-organisation continues, alongside our ambition to deliver the largest programme of secondary school building in the city for a hundred years.
The government’s ambition often exceeds the money made available, in part because of the efficiency drive known as “Gershon”.
So the settlement is challenging all over.
But ambitious. And we are ambitious for the people of Nottingham.
We intend to provide more service because there is a tremendous need out there to be met.
And we want to build on recent findings of people being happier with the city we live in -
- satisfaction with the way the Council runs things is up 5%;
- feeling safer in the city centre is up 6% in the day and 4% at night;
- the sense of belonging to Nottingham is up 4%;
- satisfaction with Nottingham as a place to live is up 5%;
- satisfaction with the quality of life is up 5%;
And as we know, even the Tories are in favour of improving quality of life now.
The polling shows investment has been worthwhile.
Especially investment in “Respect for Nottingham”.
The general aim is that the extra Council tax raised this year is to go on new services, more services where demand has grown or higher specification services.
The budget is aspirational and supports the emerging principles of the forthcoming Corporate Plan –
- Choose Nottingham;
- Respect for Nottingham;
- Transform Nottingham’s Neighbourhoods;
- Help the people who need help most;
- Serve Nottingham Better.
There’s more for older people.
Free bus passes, extended for use on the tram and for use on the buses across the whole conurbation.
The “Senior Citycard” will be used for library services and entitle holders to a 50% discount at all Leisure Centres, as well as discounts at around 100 retail outlets across Nottingham.
There will be more provision of intensive home care and we keep “garden help” going when many councils have not.
So more services for the elderly, and for those who need help most, as well.
Like helping people with physical or learning difficulties to live better lives, and to lead more independent lives.
And we’ll all benefit from -
- 1,000 more street bins,
- more doorstep collection for recycling, which has been popular;
- better paid wardens;
- an expansion of “Nottingham in Bloom”;
- more youth services;
- more support for schools.
New capital to support the capital programme in being more radical in transforming our neighbourhoods – giving them a better sense of place.
We also want to serve people better especially in terms of our contactability.
But performance remains a fundamental issue.
We try now to speak about finance and performance at the same time.
Our response to the Annual Audit Letter and the new annual services scores may not have been perceived to have been particularly dramatic.
At Executive Board, I ventured that this in part might be because the only person who’s ever made the engine room seem dramatic was called “Scotty”; as a prelude to explaining that our organisational development work doesn’t intend to “over think the plumbing”.
Little did I expect to have to exchange a whole series of Star Trek lines with the Liberal Democrat. Perhaps I’d found his level. “He’s life, Jim, but not as we know it!” Hey, check his web-site.
But there is a significant amount of organisational development work already done, through “Gearing Up”.
The “SLMG” process has reformed our top 3 tiers of management and gives a new purpose and focus to the posts.
The performance management framework - something which didn’t exist 3 years ago - is being revised.
We will have a better quality to our performance reporting, using the new IT system – “Performance Plus”.
The budget puts money aside for further organisational development - “Serving Nottingham Better” - with an emphasis on evaluation and learning, and transforming under-performing services.
We will develop specific service interventions that will raise the level of service delivery and which will teach teams how to improve their services for themselves.
“Serving Nottingham Better” will be tied in with a range of proposals for improving our focus on the customer – the new InfoPoint and then the new contact centre, with new procedures and software to support the centre in its work.
We have focussed on creating the frameworks and capacity for improvement first.
Now we move on to smarter application of that capacity and repeated evaluation and learning.
We will seek more current performance data to compare and contrast our performance with similar authorities.
What works best, here and elsewhere, will be a test of what we do.
So we’ve set out our case. A case for efficiencies, savings, taking on cost pressures and using new money for new services and a higher ambition on performance.
And then on Thursday, at 4:44, I was told of an extra £494k awarded to the Council in recognition of the growth in business in Nottingham.
Since the budget announcement, there have been 2 developments, of some significance.
A concern that extra money might be needed to accelerate a programme for better older peoples’ homes and day care centres.
We’ve noted also, that the average Council tax increase this year is projected to be 4.5%.
So we resolve today to use £200k as prudential borrowing to accelerate a programme of better facilities for older people, and the remainder to reduce this year’s Council Tax increase to just below the national average of 4.5%, at 4.44%.
We further resolve to adjust the medium term financial plan to take account of the full impacts of these changes.
I will move the amendment which will be circulated shortly.
So today, not just a budget.
But a declaration to perform better, made at Executive Board and repeated here today.
Ambitious for Nottingham.
Proud of Nottingham.
Determined to make a difference.
And not to stand still.
However good we might be at winning General Elections now;
And however good we have been at winning City Council elections;
The Labour Party in Nottingham is not complacent.
We may take some satisfaction at the changes the Tories and the Liberal Democrats are now having to go through.
Changing because the Labour Party has won 3 consecutive General Elections.
But we will meet the new challenges we face, and an important step in meeting that challenge is today’s ambitious budget.
A lot done.
A lot more to do.
And proud to be doing it for Nottingham.
I move the report and the amendment. Thank you, Chair.
[Last updated 2006-03-07]
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