Merton Council has been criticised for launching a public consultation into whether it should raise council tax next year in order to fund adult social care services without any input from affected groups or other councillors.
The Labour-run council controversially pushed through £5million worth of cuts to adult social care during this year’s budget setting meeting in March, after refusing the option to increase council tax by two per cent a year to raise £1.7 million to fund the sector. On average, this increase would have cost 5p extra a day for those in the lowest band and 15p for those in the highest.
The option to take the tax no longer collected by the Greater London Authority for the Olympic precept and so raise £1.3 million for adult social care without an actual raise in council tax was also refused, as Merton Labour stuck fast to their election promise to keep council tax frozen.
March 3: Peter Walker resigns from Merton Council as cuts to adult social care are passed in the budget
As part of the fall-out of this decision – which saw protestors line Merton Civic Centre, and led to the resignation of Councillor Peter Walker and suspension of Councillor Jeff Hanna – Council Leader Councillor Stephen Alambritis said a public consultation would be held to decide whether Merton residents would agree to pay more council tax ahead of next year’s budget.
And, although the consultation is due to be launched on Friday, September 9, the Merton Centre for Independent Living (MCIL) have complained that they and other affected groups were involved at all in its creation.
In a letter to Cllr Alambritis on Wednesday, September 7, the chair of MCIL, Roy Benjamin, said: “I am deeply disappointed that you have not kept to the commitment you made to involve us in this consultation. From the initial publicity is appears that the issues are not properly explained to the public, and I have grave concerns about the biased nature of the explanation, which risks negatively influencing the result.
January 13: Scrutiny panel votes unanimously to challenge Merton Council over "devastating" cuts to adult social care
“It is extremely concerning to see that Merton Council, under your leadership, does not fully acknowledge the devastating nature of cuts to adult social care, and the detrimental impact on the lives of disabled people.”
Councillors have also expressed concerns with the new consultation, with chair of the scrutiny panel Councillor Peter Southgate saying he was “very disappointed” that the consultation had not been through any scrutiny process before its launch.
Cllr Southgate said: “From what I can see, it doesn’t appear to deal at all with the cuts that we have already had to make, and the different groups that have had to suffer the costs of that.
“Those groups, and the scrutiny panel, should have had some input in what this consultation looked like.”
Conservative spokesman for finance, Councillor David Williams, added that the consultation had not had any input from cabinet and said: “It’s not been through any process because cabinet don’t want their finger prints on it after Labour promised to keep council tax frozen at the last election.
“We of course want a consultation with the public. But this is a false consultation. It’s really about the divisions in the Labour group.”
However, Cllr Hanna, who has been pushing for a consultation ever since the budget meeting, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that a consultation is taking place. Anyone who cares about our borough has to respond to this consultation.”
Cabinet member for finance, Councillor Mark Allison said: “Residents know we want to keep council tax low, and because we have taken a business-like approach we are one of only a few councils in the country to have frozen it every year. In Merton we have tightened our belts and reduced our spending in all service areas to reflect the severe cuts in government funding councils like ours have experienced.
“However, we need to save a further £20m in the next four years, with more cuts to come. So, as it is five years since we agreed our priorities, we want to find out residents’ views on these difficult decisions and how we keep Merton a great place for our families to live in.”
However, Cllr Walker, who resigned in protest to the cuts after breaking ranks to vote against them in March, said: “I’m surprised Merton Council are even considering not raising the council tax next year.
“If the council go ahead with another freeze, it will make Merton one of the worse boroughs in London for their provision for adult social care, which is a travesty considering this is supposed to be a Labour council.
“I hope the good people of Merton take the opportunity to ask that the savage cuts in adult social care are lessened in the coming year through a small raise in council tax.”
The consultation will run from September 9 until November 4, and can be viewed on the Merton Council website or in the My Merton magazine.
What do you think? Email letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk and let us know
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel