Motion submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14 as to Helping address the Council's Financial Crisis
To consider the following Motion in the names of Councillors J Lawson and Marchington;
“This Council notes
that:
1) Like many other local authorities, Kirklees Council faces financial challenges that are on a scale and depth not seen in its fifty-year history;
2) While budget measures taken in March 2023 have provided savings in Quarter 1, these savings have already been outstripped by increasing need and unexpected costs, ongoing Government reductions in funding and rising charges, especially energy. Rising demand in social care for children and adults has also resulted in increasing pressure due to unresolved Government funding;
3)
A new Leader and Cabinet will be in place at
September Council. Kirklees Liberal Democrat group believe that
there is an opportunity for a new Cabinet to reassess decisions
made by previous portfolio holders and to refresh the council as a whole, both in terms of its priorities
and the way it marshals all its resources to deal with the complex
issues faced by its residents in these challenging times.
This Council believes
that:
This process should be aided by
councillors and officers from the Local Government Association
(LGA) who are able to independently and
constructively challenge (peer challenge) the Administration and
report back their findings.
This Council, therefore,
resolves to:
Instruct the relevant Cabinet member to:
- Ask the Council’s Section 151 officer to assess any costs or financial risks involved in requesting a peer challenge through the Local Government Association. That assessment should also outline the possible costs and risks of not inviting a peer challenge. The information should be reported to a meeting of Cabinet for a decision as soon as possible;
- Inform the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) of this decision as part of the Council’s ongoing conversation with them to avoid Government intervention.”
Decision:
Item not considered (Meeting terminated in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 16:2).