Why Are So Many Local Authorities Skint?

[dave50]

Is it because they are corrupt, wasteful and incompetent and are more interested in spending on the latest fads and virtue signalling instead of concentrating on the core services that matter to the vast majority who pay their wages? Also why is it always care homes and libraries that they threaten to close when they are in financial trouble? I can't believe there is no scope for cuts elsewhere that don't affect the day to day lives of normal people. Or is it done for political reasons? I never believe a word they say, they are mostly run for the benefit of those who are aboard the gravy train than us that pay the bills. Absolute wastes of space.

[andy-hughes]

All of the above.

[david small]

Succinctly put. The have forgotten that they are our paid and elected servants, and not our masters. It's high time that they remembered this fact.

[barry1010]

If the council has a high number of old council properties that need constant maintenance, a high number of people in receipt of council tax and rent benefits together with an expensive to keep aging population you can see the problem.

 

[THECORBYLOON]

How many and what proportion of  authorities are, "skint"?

[ToraToraTora]

Is it because they are corrupt, wasteful and incompetent and are more interested in spending on the latest fads and virtue signalling instead of concentrating on the core services that matter to the vast majority who pay their wages?

YES

Personally I advocate sweeping the whole sorry sheet show away and replacing with appointed administrators to run the local services. Would save a kin fortune and there'd be no need for pointless elections etc.

[andy-hughes]

barry - // If the council has a high number of old council properties that need constant maintenance, a high number of people in receipt of council tax and rent benefits together with an expensive to keep aging population you can see the problem. //

I would agree.

But my local Stoke-on-Trent Council have spent several years and millions of pounds of local money tarting up the pavements of Hanley, the most populous shopping centre.

The pavements are more or less pretty, except where they have been routinely destroyed for utility repairs, and simply cheaply tarmacced over.

Utterly pointless and meaningless slogans in beautiful script adorn some pavements at lord alone knows what purpose or cost.

And the outlay seems to complete fly in the face of the fact that the people actually walking on these wonderful pavements, and reading the pointless signs, is a mere fraction of what it was, because the shops that sit behind them are all closed and heading for dereliction.

The latest brainwave is to prevent vehciular access to the local train station, for reasons that I am unaware of, only sure that they can not be located in the file marked 'Common Sense'.

So I don't have to look too far for the reasons why Stoke Council is due to declare bankruptcy at any time.

That bankruptcy is sadly not confined to the Council's finances, it also extends to simple common sense, a sense of vision, and proper solutions to the problems accelerating in a dying city.

[webbo3]

Bristol city council Labour

The refurbishment of Bristol Beacon, which used to called Colston Hall, is likely to cost £132m. The original estimate was for £48m. A report on the increase has gone to Bristol City Council's cabinet. According to the report the money will be paid back over the next 50 years.

Analysis: How £35 million of public money was ‘lost’ to Bristol Energy

Extra £15million to be spent on planning Bristol’s new underground rail network(BRISTOL UNDERGROUND WOULD COST £18BN, SECRET REPORT REVEALS) sorry for the caps it was a copy and paste.

£182 million from the labour led council.

 

I'm sure there are other but can't remember.

[douglas9401]

Here, fill your boots:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-66854342

[fender62]

makes me think money to mates businesses, or kick backs, there is a town near me where they are constantly digging up the roads, although they have been done already, few months go by and same road is dug up and then tarmacked again, meanwhile half the shops are boarded up.

[Togo]

If you put left wing politicians in charge of the Sahara Desert, within 5 years there would be a shortage of sand. With a doff of the cap to Milt Friedman. 

[Hymie]

Absolutely nothing to do with central government cutting the amount of money they are giving to local councils then?

[webbo3]

Hymie@19:43

\\Absolutely nothing to do with central government cutting the amount of money they are giving to local councils then?//

 

No, all about councils wasting money on vanity products and spending more than they have, do you spend more than your employer pays you.?

[douglas9401]

Safe spaces, workshops, rainbow tat and employing thespian inadequates to 'entertain'.

[Old_Geezer]

I'm sure I have no idea how much budget the average local authority needs to run the place properly; but given the umpteen examples of wasting public money on daft schemes and the like, clearly they give the appearance of rolling in it, trying to retain an unjustifiable budget by spending it all at the end of the financial year.

 

Meanwhile I can assure all that some of us will always know and refer to the Colston Hall as the Colston Hall. And we need our benefactor's statue returned back to where it should be.

[dave50]

When climate change was invented councils couldn't wait to jump on the bandwagon, creating vast climate change departments, employing overpaid managers and god knows how many others, new offices and all that goes with it. Just an example.