Letter: Be Aware of What Is Really Happening to Council Finances

Published on: 19 Dec, 2017
Updated on: 19 Dec, 2017

From Martin Elliott

In response to: A Kingston View: Car Park Charges at Newlands Corner and the Commons

I wonder if residents have recognised what is really happening to our local authority finances? Surrey County Council and local councils are taking items they have always provided, but which are not a statutory requirement, out of the annual revenue budget and made them an “optional” charge.

First in Guildford was the garden waste schemes. Now, in SCC, it’s the creeping charges and reduced services of the “Community Recycling Centres” and the natural countryside areas. As Cllr Keith Witham points out, the access, parking paths etc are not natural and neither is the landscape itself.

Hidden away though, SCC is still transferring its financing of commitments from its traditional revenue to additional residents contributions.

How much of this becomes the usual political smoke and mirrors?

First, let’s throw in another situation which Cllr Witham mentions – Hospital Car Park charges. Let’s face it, this is another government organisation under a fierce financial pressure. Parking is a long-term issue. In Scotland, they have introduced a complete ban on charging for car parking at hospitals.

Here in England, at the Royal Surrey, the situation is made even more confusing by GBC’s large, under-utilised Onslow Park & Ride car park, subsidised by town centre car parking charges and supposedly prohibited to non-Park & Ride users.

Bigger still is the usual spin employed in any SCC councillor’s release. The subjects under discussion are costs/cuts of a few £million, mostly next year. However, they always quote SCC is making cuts of £100m in the (not quoted) over £1 billion revenue budget for 2017/18.

We are three quarters through the financial year, have three-quarters of the cuts, ie £75m, been made? Nobody over the nine months has said. It becomes even more important to know if they are on track as they prepare the budget for 2018/19 and consider another the council tax rise for April.

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