Budget set: Government pulls back from support for clean ups and energy costs.

 

Financiers and analysts have warned all purpose Unitary Councils that the change of heart from Government in the shadow of massive military growth required to fulfill its promises to ensure the defence of the nation is bolstered, they have backed off supporting Unitary Council's with the costs of clean ups after the recent massive storms and the huge rise in energy costs.

The very large Unitary Council, Northumberland County Council, will be hit hard, with it reporting that in October 2021 a 42% increase in gas heating costs on public buildings and a 10.5% increase in electricity after taking into account its income from solar panels and a small hydro plant into consideration, with the expansion of its ground source heat pump project halted in 2017 when the Conservatives gained power across the County the planned changes required to reducing the Council's reliance on the nations energy grids have slowed considerably and this short sightedness will cost residents dearly in both service reductions and increased costs.

Unless the Government works more closely with Gulf states to increase production of oil for export as a matter of urgency, Council's like Northumberland with huge mileage costs will also be pressurised to reduce work on the ground that residents want and need in order to reduce the miles covered to undertake repairs and maintenance of grounds and highways to attempt to balance their books.

With the well documented spend of Northumberland's reserves on compensating staff who have been either bullied or forced from their jobs over the last five years when added to the pull back of promised help from Government, will place huge 'stress' on the County Council's revenue income reserves with the budget papers illustrating a borrowing requirement of an additional £307m taking the debt of the Council well over a £Billion and that debt also has to be serviced using the revenue income of the Council.

It's time some sanity is brought
back to halt the mismanagement of the County and sensible senior advisers brought in to guide the Council, expose the serious actions against the public purse and get the current leaders to accept responsibility and resign.