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Woking plans to cut funds for care, arts, sports and toilets to plug £1.2bn deficit | Austerity
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Woking council has laid out a drastic package of cuts to local services after it in effect declared itself bankrupt this summer, revealing a £1.2bn deficit racked up from a risky investment spree overseen by its former Conservative administration.
In a document setting out a wide-ranging austerity programme, it also revealed plans to remove funding for choir and dance classes for residents with Parkinson’s disease, as well as grants for community transport for elderly and disabled people, and for a local charity helping domestic abuse survivors.
Birmingham city council, the largest local authority in the UK, became the latest to issue such a notice this week, blaming a £760m bill for equal pay claims, problems installing a new IT system and £1bn in government cuts over the past decade.
However, councils from across the political divide are increasingly sounding the alarm over mounting financial pressures, after years of cuts to central government funding, soaring inflation, and rising demand amid the cost of living crisis.
Woking’s troubles stem from a programme of commercial investments and regeneration schemes involving hotels and skyscrapers overseen by its former Tory administration, after piling up debts of £1.8bn – more than 100 times its annual £16m of core funding from council tax, government grants and other income.
The council’s Liberal Democrat leadership has blamed the party, which they ousted last year, for borrowing billions of pounds to fund risky schemes, including a complex of towers in the town centre – standing as the tallest buildings outside a big city in England – with a four-star Hilton hotel, public plazas, parking facilities and shops.
The original article contains 706 words, the summary contains 267 words. Saved 62%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!