Heather Kidd has slammed this week’s announcement by the Government of a 27% cut in its grant to Shropshire Council.
Heather said “Shrophire is facing a crisis. The Government have slashed the grant to the Council by 27.9% on top of 40% already cut since 2010. Even with a Council Tax rise of 3.99% the Council will only raise £4.8m leaving a £1.5 million gap between income and expenditure. As the same time key services have built up huge debts. Adult Social Care alone is £5 million overspent.
“The previous Council Leader’s policy of freezing Council Tax for 7 years in a row has left the Council in a perilous position with doubts over its ability to set a legal budget in the future.
“Central Government also need to realise the difficulties of delivering services over a huge area with a small population. Its is a travesty that metropolitan areas with their bigger populations are not facing the severe cuts that Shropshire suffers.
Courtesy of the mistakes of the Tory Council and the indifference of Cameron’s Government to rural areas the ordinary people of Shropshire have suffered. Fewer services, more isolation and greater risk.
“It is high Time for Government to understand the needs of Country areas and reassess their cuts as a matter of urgency”