DROITWICH and Evesham Labour Party has slammed the Reform-run Worcestershire County Council over its request to put a 10 per cent rise on its council tax precept this year.
That amount was ‘trimmed’ by the Labour Government which gave permission for a nine per cent increase on this year’s bills.
But, the Droitwich and Evesham Labour Party pointed out the council tax hike request came after the authority received £33million in emergency Government funding.
The county council also received emergency Government funding this year, plus millions in Government grants to start rebuilding services. The Government also agreed to write off 90 per cent of the authority’s accumulated special education debt.
Last week, Reform UK announced it was potentially facing bankruptcy with council leader, Coun Jo Monk, blaming the Tories for ‘leaving a financial mess’ after running the authority for the last two decades.
She came under fire from some who said she, herself, before switching to Reform, was part of the Conservative administration which had overseen the council’s finances.
She claimed, whilst she knew Worcestershire County Council was facing financial difficulties, she was unaware of the true scale of them until Reform UK took control of the council.
Labour Coun Mary Tasker said: “This crisis is the result of 14 years of council funding cuts made by Conservative and Lib Dem governments, on top of decades of local Conservative mismanagement and reliance on costly private contracts. Worcestershire’s Reform UK councillors – including many turncoat Tories who helped create the mess – seem divided on how to finish the job.
“Worcestershire County Council should be rebuilding its capacity to provide vital public services, not endlessly funnelling taxpayers’ money into management bonuses and contractor dividends.”
The Conservatives, in response, claim Reform UK ‘has lost control of spending’ and ‘should be cutting its cloth accordingly’.
