Labour administration ignores budget scrutiny and consultation

Oldham's budget proposals from the Labour administration were rubber stamped by its Cabinet last week, after its consultation process completed two weeks after their budget proposals were signed off.

The proposals – which include £11 million in cuts to children’s services and social care – were finalised and published on January 21, yet the budget consultation, in which local residents could have their say on what they wanted, didn’t open until January 23.

Liberal Democrats finance lead Sam Al-Hamdani said: “This is absolutely typical of a Labour administration which thinks it knows best and just isn’t interested in anyone else’s opinion.

“Given that they completed their plans before asking the public for their contribution, I’d like to ask them whether they plan to ever read the responses that people took the time and effort to make, or just pretend that it never happened?”

In the scrutiny meeting on the administration’s proposals, Lib Dem Councillors Mark Kenyon and Garth Harkness asked for more details on the proposed spending but were told while some information would be sent out by email, the reports would not be changed before they came to Cabinet. 

Questions on whether the Council would actually deliver the proposed savings – after failing to hit previous targets – also failed to get any answers. 

Liberal Democrat Councillor Mark Kenyon said: “The Labour-run Council got a very critical review from the Local Government Association, saying that it should under no circumstances continue to fund spending out of reserves – with an estimated £20 million of overspending this year being taken directly from its drained accounts.

“With chronic overspending over the last three years, I asked the simple question, ‘How can you demonstrate that this won’t happen again?’ Needless to say, we got no answers from an administration who just pay lip service to consultation and scrutiny.”