Investing in our future

The proposed Council budget includes a massive investment in Swansea’s future. £10.5 million has been earmarked to tackle the mountain of school repairs inherited from the previous Labour Administration. This includes £850,000 for the twelve schools in the worst condition.

Work is due to start on a new Welsh School in West Cross, whilst money has also been set aside to finish off the refurbishment of the Leisure Centre. This is on schedule to re-open by the end of the year.

A new Central Library is to be opened in County Hall as part of a civic centre project that will open up this building to general public use. This library will be complemented by a new contact centre to make it easier for the public to access Council services. In addition a new bowls hall will be opened in Plasmarl to replace the one that disappeared when the Leisure Centre closed.

Investment is also starting to come into the City Centre with work having started on re-developing the old David Evans site and with more developers interested in investing in the City as well. The Council is proposing to complete the bus link to the Fabian Way Park and Ride site in the next financial year, whilst the new lanes for buses, taxis and bicycles in the City Centre has eased public transport access whilst helping to tackle congestion.

The Administration are also anxious to start work on rebuilding the Quadrant Bus Station and are waiting to hear if their grant application to the Welsh Assembly Government has been successful. This scheme was held up by land acquisition issues prior to 2004 but we have got it back on track. The intention was always to fund it from Assembly Grant, all we need is that money to be approved and work can start.

A budget for all

At Cabinet today the Administration will bring forward proposals that will limit April’s Council Tax increase to an inflation-busting 3.5%. The current RPI is 4.4%.

Their budget includes a suggested £15.5 million extra for front line services. Street cleaning, waste disposal, libraries, new specialist teaching facilities, parks and support for children and families will all receive extra investment.

Top priority for the Administration is cleaning up the City. They
have earmarked an extra £200,000 to fund specialist cleansing
teams who will move from community to community targeting
‘grot’ spots. An extra £67,000 is to be spent on better sweeping
machines that can get into more awkward places.

£2.4 million has been set aside for children with additional learning needs, which includes new specialist teaching facilities. £1.1 million is to be invested in child and family services, including foster care, adoption and parent support, whilst an extra £500,000 has been provided for adult services such as care homes and domicillary care. £45,000 is to be invested in extending library opening hours, whilst school spending has once more been kept higher than Assembly Government guidelines.

For many people the headline Council Tax rate is the most important factor and we are proud that we have managed to invest in services whilst maintaining an average rise of 3.9% over our three budgets. Compare that to Labour, whose average tax increase was 8.66%, a rate achieved whilst simultaneously allowing all of the City's assets to fall into major disrepair. Now that was incompetence.

A legacy in the making

Following Insider's post on Labour's Legacy and the Labour spin-site's wholly negative repost we felt it was worthwhile taking note of the glass as half-full for a change.

Our approach to the Council's finances has been one of living within our means. We have sought to do so in the face of severe spending pressures. Last year for example we needed to find an extra £2.5 million in pension fund contributions, £2.5 million for waste disposal, £1.7 million for fuel price increases, £1.9 million for Special Educational Needs and £1.3 million for Children's Services. The Labour Assembly Government also kept back £1.6 million from local schools. Despite that we kept the Council Tax increase at 5% and increased spending on education by 4.4% and social services by 10%.

The average Council Tax increase under this Administration has been 4.25%. That will reduce further when this year's increase is factored in. By contrast, Labour increased Council Tax on average by 8.66%. Labour say we have cut road maintenance and street cleaning. That is not true. We have introduced a multi-million pound four year road and pavement refurbishment programme designed to correct Labour's neglect of this area. We are also investing in street cleansing as will become evident later this month and have doubled recycling rates.

Labour cannot even get their list of spending cuts right. They say we have slashed £118,000 from post-16 school transport but that cut was never made. Instead we consulted on the proposal and agreed to keep the expenditure and the service in the budget in accordance with the response to that consultation. A number of the other so-called cuts listed by Labour are also subject to consultation and more work and may not emerge from that process in the same format, if indeed they emerge at all.

And what about those priorities? E-government costing £98 million over ten years, not the £170 million that Labour claim. A project that will bring clear benefits through a more efficient Council, value-for-money procurement and a contact centre that is still going ahead, despite Labour spin to the contrary, just not with Capgemini.

A partnership with the Labour Assembly Government to invest in public transport, including a new park and ride site in Fforestfach, a dedicated bus lane from the Fabian Way Park and Ride and changes to the City Centre road system so as to accomodate buses, taxis and bicycles, whilst reducing traffic congestion. Plans to build the new bus station that Labour failed to bring to completion if the Labour Transport Minister and local AM, Andrew Davies, approves the bid for funding. We have at least completed the land acquisition that Labour failed to bring to fruition.

The creation of a brand new central library in County Hall to modern standards, whilst at the same time opening up Labour's palace to public use. The changes to Councillors' accomodation by the way were carried out in full consultation with all parties and a number of changes were made as a result. It would be possible to write a book on the shenanigans over the Labour Group room so as to meet the demands of their leader's ego.

The rebuilding of the Leisure Centre, following its closure by Labour; putting in place the City Centre strategic framework; the Economic Strategic framework for the City & County of Swansea; the design and completion of Princess Way; the purchase and demolition of Unifloc to create Museum Green; and additional funding for City Centre core work. (Oxford Street – from Castle Square to Plymouth Street).

New schools at Llwynderw and St Thomas, with plans in place to rebuild Penyrheol; opening a specialist teaching facility at Pontarddulais Comprehensive; combining Bryn Nursery with Townhill School; amalgamations of infant/junior schools – Birchgrove, Dunvant and Gwyrosydd; completion of an early years block at YGG Bryniago; new sports halls at Pentrehafod and Bishopston Schools; new multi-use games areas at Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr and Cefn Hengoed; and Swansea’s first integrated Children’s Centre at Clwyd School. We are also building a a £3 million two-storey maths and science block at Morriston Comprehensive School. Work is on schedule to be finished by September 2007. Next year we are investing over £10 million in schools and have just announced £850,000 to repair the worst of the school buildings left near to collapse by Labour neglect.

There is a lot more including the completion of the fitting out of the Liberty Stadium and ensuring it operates on a sound financial basis, the building of a new library at Killay, a replacement for West Cross House that meets modern requirements and is fit for purpose, the proposed introduction of a street scene programme with extra finance and the expansion of the NEAT scheme, and the first major retail development in the City Centre for 20 years with more announcements to come.

Like Labour before us we have used external consultants and outside legal services but that is the way that all Councils get things done. We have preserved the City's heritage by repairing the mayoral chain and we have done what is necessary to put in place the best possible management of the Council. In the face of these achievements Labour's complaints appear trivial and partisan. They know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Their incompetence left the Council directionless and let local people down. It is this Administration who are putting things right.

Budget Time

The Labour chumps at Inside Out are very keen to portray the Swansea Administration as keen to cut services, even though in many instances they failed to oppose the supposed cuts and the impact on the ground is minimal. For our part we have been keen to eschew Labour's example and to live within our means. That is why we have kept our average Council Tax increase to 4.25%, compared to 8.66% under Labour.

Just how difficult that has been in the face of many cost pressures and inadequate settlements from the Labour Assembly Government has not been appreciated by many. For Labour, they have always preferred to ignore these factors and just oppose for the sake of it.

Now we see that it is not just Swansea that is having problems. Neighbouring Labour-controlled Neath Port Council are having to resort to more drastic measures than anything we would contemplate to keep their budget under control. According to the Neath Guardian Labour Council Leader, Derek Vaughan, is contemplating laying off staff to make ends meet. His administration has written to almost 3,000 of their most senior staff, asking them if they would be willing to take voluntary redundancy or early retirement. So far 400 have volunteered. Quite what impact this will have on services has yet to be seen but we are willing to bet that it will not be positive.

Although Neath Port Talbot aim to keep their Council Tax rise to a minimum they will still have the highest Council tax bills in Wales. So their residents will be paying more than anybody else for poorer services. That is the reality of living in a Labour-run Council area. We bet this will not feature on the Labour spin site anytime soon.