CASH STRAPPED COUNCIL - PLEADING FALLS ON LABOUR'S DEAF EARS

27.10.03

Haringey Council's financial problems are set to worsen if the Labour Government continues to rebuff efforts from the cash strapped Labour council for more cash, according to the Lib Dems.

Pleas for more cash have fallen on deaf ears among Labour Ministers in Whitehall. The Council already has a massive £1.4 million over-spend this year, and is planning another huge Council Tax hike for April. The Council may now also face tax capping by the Government, partly as a result of its attempts to push through such steep tax rises now, in order to avoid tax hikes nearer the 2006 local elections, when Labour will face a determined bid for control from the Lib Dems.

Cllr Ross Laird, Leader of the Opposition comments:

"The Labour Government's new funding formula, and Haringey Labour's own waste and inefficiency means that the Council now faces both a financial shortfall and Council Tax capping. The present shortfall is partly a consequence of increased investment in social services, but also due to the Labour Group's decision to hold down taxes at election times and then unleash such massive increases once the local election was out of the way. As a result, Council services will become increasingly squeezed."

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