LABOUR PLANS TO DEFUND PARISH COUNCILS

Erewash MP Maggie Throup has hit back at plans put forward by Labour-controlled Erewash Borough Council to defund Parish Councils by tens of thousands of pounds by scrapping the Concurrent Grant. In a leaked email sent this week, Labour’s Lead Member for Resourcing, Cllr Gordon Thomas, detailed how his Party proposes to cut Parish Council funding to just £2,000.00 in 2024/25 and then withdrawn it completely in 2025/26. Parish Councils in Breaston, Draycott, Risley, Sandiacre, Sawley and Stanton-by Dale provide immense value for money to the Council Taxpayer, delivering and maintaining vital local services in addition to organising a number of community-based events each year, such as Christmas Light displays and Remembrance commemorations.  
of Erewash Borough Council at https://www.maggiethroup.com/save-our-parishes. 

This work is largely funded by the Concurrent Grant, which is designed to give parity between the parishes and larger towns that make up our Borough, preventing a situation whereby residents living in the parishes are charged twice for the same public service when compared to those living in Ilkeston and Long Eaton. Now, due to Labour’s cuts, Parish Councils may soon be left with no other option but to charge residents significantly more through their Council Tax precept at the same time as having to reduce service levels to a minimum. Commenting on Labour’s plans to defund Parish Councils, Maggie said:

“With the Concurrent Grant scrapped, many Parish Councils will now face having to plug a black hole in their budgets. This burden will inevitably be passed on to local residents at a time when household budgets are coming under pressure, despite significant financial support from the Government. It may only be a few short months since Labour returned to office, but their mask has already slipped, and what we will inevitably see now is large tax increases to pay for fewer and poorer services. I believe this should not have to be the case and so I want to urge all local residents to sign my open letter to Labour’s Council Leader calling on him to immediately reinstate the Concurrent Grant and to cease Labour’s attack on our Parish Councils and the local residents they so dutifully serve.”

Supporting Maggie in her call for the Grant to be reinstated, Conservative Group Leader of Erewash Borough Council and Chairman of Sandiacre Parish Council, Cllr. Wayne Major said:

“In office, the Conservatives ensured Erewash Borough Council returned to an eminently stronger financial position than when we inherited the authority from the previous Labour administration 20 years ago. Yet Labour is now proposing to entirely withdraw the Concurrent Grant Funding from all Parish Councils across the Borough and demanding that they increase their proportion of the Council Tax precept. In effect, this will mean that residents will be charged twice for the same services - once for the parished area in which they live and once to subsidise service in the larger towns. I support Maggie in her campaign and will fight alongside her and fellow Conservative Councillors until the Concurrent Grant is reinstated.”

Cllr. Garry McCahill, Independent Chair of Stanton-by- Dale Parish Council added:

As a Parish Council made up of local residents, we are immensely proud of the services we provide to our community, and so the withdrawal of the Concurrent Grant by Labour-controlled Erewash Borough Council comes as a huge blow. This decision means that we will need to look closely at our budget and there will no doubt be some tough decision needing to be made about the continued viability of the services we offer moving forward.” 

Residents can sign up to Maggie’s open letter to the Labour Leader of Erewash Borough Council at https://www.maggiethroup.com/save-our-parishes. 

REBUILDING AT FRIESLAND SCHOOL

The Department of Education has an exciting blueprint for the redevelopment of Friesland School and to make this happen wants to take back control of the entire campus including Sandiacre Friesland Sports Centre. The rebuilding programme will ensure a modern educational environment for the 1,300 secondary pupils attending Friesland School – the new development plan will mean that the buildings will be resilient to climate change and more energy efficient, reducing both the schools carbon footprint and operating costs. 

The refurbishment work and expansion, including new buildings, will be made possible with funding allocated under the government’s Schools Rebuilding Programme. The academy school, which includes a sixth form, is run by The Two Counties Trust. Councillors are set to decide on whether to surrender the council’s lease at a meeting of the Council Executive on 5 September, with a report highlighting that the authority has three other sport and leisure facilities, the closest just 2.5 miles away at West Park in Long Eaton. Under the new development scheme Sandiacre Friesland Sports Centre would close with discussions underway for the transfer of the building to the Trust.

Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing at Erewash Borough Council, Councillor Claire Marie Poole said:  “Obviously, the pupils and their education must come first – and this huge investment in the school is long overdue. Use of the Friesland Sports Centre has been dropping for some time with far fewer customers through the doors than other centres in the borough. It would seem prudent and better use of taxpayers’ money for the school’s trust to take over the site as part of the government’s schools rebuilding programme.”

Councillors will also be asked to approve a further five-year extension to the leisure operating contract with Parkwood Leisure Limited for its three other leisure centres in the borough. This would see the agreement extended beyond the current ten-year contract, until 30th January 2034, and could see the council negotiate significant savings. If all the proposed options are all approved - including replacement of the Artificial Turf Pitch at Rutland Sports Park - it would see a combined saving of an estimated £209k per annum until 2029. The council is committed to supporting people through the cost-of living crisis. Information and advice can be found at erewash.gov.uk. 

CHANGES TO GARDEN WASTE SERVICE

A proposal to end “free” garden waste collections is being considered by Erewash Borough Council as part of a number of changes to household waste collection services. Erewash is among only a few councils not to charge residents for collecting garden waste where many other councils have an annual fee to pay for the service. The proposed subscription charges include an ‘early bird’ fully discounted fee of £20 for the first year which will be available to all residents if they sign up for the service by 31st March, 2024. Those who sign-up after the 31st March by direct debit would pay a reduced fee of £32 for the service, and for non-direct debit payers, the full price would be £37 per year. 

The new charges for garden waste collection could be brought in as early as next April under plans to be considered by Council Executive on 5th September. Residents would be invited late this year or early in 2024 to sign up for the council’s garden waste collection scheme. From year two and as part of the cost-of-living action scheme, the council plans to offer a 25% discount on subscriptions for first bins to households that are in receipt of council tax support.

Councillor Joel Bryan, Erewash Borough Council’s Lead Member for Environment, says:  “In an ideal world we would want to carry on with the current system – even though brown bin collections have never actually been free for the council and it is not a statutory service. This move is ultimately to protect the council’s frontline services with a budget gap of £1m plus for next year and to make sure we continue to provide a high standard of collections to residents.” 

Residents who choose not to participate in the garden waste subscription scheme will still be able to take their garden waste to one of the Derbyshire County Council’s household waste recycling centres or compost their garden waste at home. In support of home composting, the council will subsidise composting bins and offer half price bins for up to 1,000 households (£14.25 instead of £28.50) via ‘Getcomposting’.  Households would still need to pay the £6.99 delivery charge.

PARISH COUNCIL GRANTS

Erewash Borough Council’s battle to deal with the budget deficit and financial squeeze continues. The council – which could see a financial gap in excess of £1m for 2024/25 - has paid concurrent grants to parish councils for many years, but this is effectively on a voluntary basis. A report to the Council Executive, which meets on September 5, recommends that the grants to parish councils are phased out.

Parishes have historically received differing amounts of funding with no set formula to underpin the value of grants which is unfair. Parish Councils will continue to receive the bulk of their funding from the precept they levy on parish residents via Council Tax – this is a fair way to raise money within parish communities. Erewash Borough Council will continue to deliver the normal statutory services in parish council areas.
Councillor James Dawson, Leader of Erewash Brough Council, said: “We have inherited a budget black hole of more than £1million just to keep vital services going the way they are. This leaves us facing stark choices we would sooner not have to make. Parish councils had already been warned that our grants to them were becoming increasingly unviable so have been making contingency plans.”
 
The report recommends not pulling the plug immediately. Parish councils will be given extra time to plan ahead. They will continue to receive the bulk of their funding from the precept they levy on residents via Council Tax. Councillor Dawson said this was the ‘right way’ to raise money within parish communities. Under Erewash council’s plan, reduced grants will be made in the next financial year before they finally end in April 2025. Parish councils affected are Breaston, Breadsall, Dale Abbey, Draycott, Little Eaton, Morley, Ockbrook and Borrowash, Risley and Hopwell, Sandiacre, Sawley, Stanley and Stanley Common, Stanton-By-Dale, and West Hallam. The move comes amid a vow by Erewash’s new administration to balance the books while focussing on helping residents through the cost-of-living crisis. Cllr Dawson said: “Making ends meet is not only the priority of residents, it is our priority too.”

COST OF LIVING HELP

Erewash Borough Council’s new leadership has issued a pledge to prioritise helping local people through the cost-of-living crisis – while admitting that the squeeze means tough town hall decisions lie ahead.

Leader of Erewash Borough Council, Councillor James Dawson said in the wake of Labour taking control from the Conservatives in May: “The public has voted for change. There is much we want to do. But the absolute number one priority is helping struggling local families who face ever-increasing bills for fuel, food and keeping a roof over their heads.”

Councillor Dawson went on: “Our greatest challenge is the fact the cost-of-living crisis threatens to cripple the council itself – on top of years of central government cuts to local spending. We have no magic pot of money. The council is currently having to find ways to use far less cash to maintain the vital services it already runs.”

A cost-of-living action plan is being drawn up by the authority. The strategy focusses on working with partner organisations such as Citizens Advice, while also detailing how residents can be informed of what direct council help is available. Councillor Dawson ruled out any raids on the council’s reserve fund, vowing that the authority will live within its means with no wild spending sprees. He also pledged to be honest with residents. The leader said: “Erewash faces a budget black hole of more than £1million next year just to maintain services as they are. There is no sugar coating this. Our focus will be on identifying savings we can make – while wringing every ounce of available funding from the government.”

Cllr Dawson pointed to transformation that is under way in the centre of Long Eaton. It is NOT being paid for out of council coffers but is thanks to Erewash battling for a share of the government’s Towns Fund. In Ilkeston there are plans to launch a free shuttle bus to the top of town. Again, the money for this is from the government – levelling-up cash that came with strict conditions on the kinds of things it must be spent on. Cllr Dawson insisted: “We are determined to balance the books and find a sustainable way of operating. In the spirit of total honesty this will force the council into some choices we would sooner not make, and which residents will not be happy about. But having said that, our promise to residents amid the unprecedented squeeze remains. We WILL deliver on your priorities.”