A Tale of Two Councils
October 31, 2004 8:58 PM
The Liberal Democrats are claiming that the recent independent Audit Commission reviews of local councils in Warwickshire have highlighted the superiority of their approach to local government.
Richard Allanach, the Liberal Democrats' parliamentary spokesperson for Rugby & Kenilworth says he can see great differences in the way the two local authorities who form part of his constituency are run.
"Warwick and Rugby are two similar local authorities but have been rated very differently by the audit commission" he said. "Both have populations of around 100,000 people and consist of a rural area around an urban core. Both authorities have their strengths and the Audit Commission praises each of them for keeping their houses in good condition, for supporting the regeneration of their town centres and for their sound financial positions."
"Each council has substantial groups of Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative councillors together with some independents. The difference comes in the political choices made by the Labour groups on the two councils and the outcomes for residents. In Warwick the Labour party chose to work with the Liberal Democrats and form a partnership. This local authority has been rated excellent. However in Rugby the Labour party did a deal with the Tories which gave the Conservatives power in return for Labour being allowed to run the scrutiny panels. This local authority has only been rated fair and the audit commission says that "the overview function is not being delivered at all". In Rugby Labour chose to go into opposition but the Audit Commission says it is failing in this basic task.
Mr Allanach continued "The Audit Commission could not be more fulsome in its praise of Warwick District Council. Its Council Tax is the lowest in Warwickshire, fear of crime is falling, only 48% of its new homes are being built on greenfield sites and it is recycling 23% of its household waste. The Audit Commission says that "The Council provides effective leadership for the community particularly through the range of partnership working that it has developed." That "arrangements are in place to ensure that the views of all sections of the community are considered" and that when the council decides what its priorities are it puts in place the people and money to achieve them.
Mr Allanach then contrasted the sorry state of affairs in the Tory run Rugby Borough Council. Here the majority of services do not know if they are providing value for money, in the latest year for which audited figures are available 82% of new homes were built on greenfield sites and only 12% of household waste is recycled. The Audit Commission says its "longer term ambitions for the future are not underpinned by robust plans". It confirms that the council is not engaging with those who are economically or socially excluded and says that the Council is failing to provide leadership through partnership.
Mr Allanach concluded "If Rugby is to become more like Warwick then either the Labour party must end its support for the local Tories or the Liberal Democrats must win significantly more seats in the 2006 district council elections."
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