Which one is lying? Cllr Ablewhite or The Hunts Post?

Further to a recent blog about Cllr Ablewhite and his 24% claim about the pension contributions to the local government pension scheme, I have received further information from the CAB which casts more doubt on the 24% claim reported in the Hunts Post as Cllr Ablewhite as saying the following:

"For example, 24 per cent of the money we give to the Citizens Advice Bureau goes into the local government pension scheme."

Hunts CAB says:

‘We have an employer’s contribution rate of 20.1% this financial year, and 22.1% for the financial year 2012-13 which will be the final year of the current SLA. The employer’s contribution rate only applies to the salaries of the three remaining active members of the scheme and we stopped admitting new members some years ago. This current year, the pension contributions represent 4.4 % of the budget allocated to us by HDC.’

Either the Hunts Post is correct about what Cllr Ablewhite said or Cllr Ablewhite didn't say anything about the 24% and the Hunts Post is wrong. Either way when people look up why the CAB has had its grant cut then the reason will be 24% of the grant goes on pensions. This is rubbish. 

Town Council council tax rate stays the same! Why?

The Conservatives have announced the Town Council tax rate will stay the same at £84.23 for a Band D property. This will be the third year running the Council Tax remains the same. So how do they do that when the new Conservative administration is spending money on HDC owned CCTV and South Street toilets?

The answer is the Liberal Democrats left the Town Councils finances in fine fettle. The Conservatives were welcomed with a £186,575 surplus on the 2010/11 budget when they took power. This leaves total reserves standing at £905,547 at the start of this financial year.

The Conservatives have had to face some cost increases:

The Town Council propaganda rag - Priorities - is costing an extra £10,534.
The money from HDC for the Customer Service Centre has gone - £7,084.
Museum running costs up by £4,000. Though they get this back in rent - up by £4,000.
Jubilee Hall is a new cost at £6,500. Though this is returned by rent increase to £6,500.
CCTV is a new cost at £22,750.
Grants has increased by £5,015.
Town Promotion salary £28,011.
QE2 celebration £20,000 - (a one off)

A total increase of £82,820.

With other savings and cuts this means the net expenditure for the Town Council section of the budget 2012/13 is £756,379. This is up from the 2011/12 budget (£705,373) by £53,988.

The reason why this increase isn't reflected in the Town is because a couple of costs have really gone down.

Eatons Community Centre down by £16,703.
Priory Centre costs are down saving £47,731

A total of £64,434 saved in the budget. This means the net expenditure before the capital cost is £820,957 against the 2011/12 budget of £831,406. This is a reduction of £10,449.

The problem is with the capital costs. These have been changed so the previous way of accounting for the in Earmarked Reserves (£398,134) which has been closed and the money transferred to the new Capital Projects account.

Capital Projects in 2011/12 were allocated £56,478 (This figure was £58,478 for last year. A £2,000 difference) For 2012/13 the allocation has gone up to £573,461. This is an increase of £514,983 (not £474,893 quoted in the draft budget). What has to be taken into account is the transferred money -£398,134. This makes an increase total of £116,849.

This is a big increase (though in reviews of previous Town Council budgets I reckoned the amount should be £100,000). £95,024 of this money is coming from General Reserves. Not usually good.

The precept for this year is £889,884. The precept for next year is £901,261. An extra £11,377. The money from extra housing is £11,371.

In the new capital budget there is money flying around everywhere.

Extra money is going into:

Allotment land  - £38000
New cemetery land - £20000
Eatons Capital project - £10000
Loves Farm - £30000
Play areas  - £10000
Signs - £2000
Toilets - £55000 (£40,000 capital + 1 year running costs £15,000)
Priory Centre - £40000
A total of £205,000

This was helped by:

Projects stopped - £29673

This leaves a net figure of an extra £175,327.

Of which £95,024 is coming from General reserves. The use of General reserves is a real no-no if this is used to reduce spending. The forecast is a budget surplus for 2011/12 of £94,540. If this is attained or exceeded then the funding isn't bad for next year.

The trouble is the underlying increase in capital spending. For instance if £40,000 for the toilets, £40,000 for the Priory Centre and £30,000 for Love's Farms are all one-offs and this money is taken from General Reserves the underlying increase is within reason.

A couple of problems:

1. The £15,000 a year to run the South Street Toilets isn't included in projections.
2. The Hall Hire income on Eatons Community Centre doesn't sit right.

The projected income for 2011/12 is £18,212. Next year there is roughly a £17k. Unless there is a good reason for this increase then adding £17k is wrong. By 2013/14 this rises by another £13k. This is a total increase of £30k over the projected figure for 2011/12.

The Town council could be out by £45,000 of extra expenditure in future years.

The Council Tax base has been announced. This now stands at 10,820 for next year. This is an increase of 120 over the 10,700 used in the calculations for the Council Tax. 120 x £84.23 = £10,170 in extra income not allowed for in the budget. If the Town Council just agreed the budget this would have made the Council Tax fall by 93 pence. (£901,261 / 10820 = £83.30). As the Town Council decided the amount of tax should be £84.23, the Town Council will see this money.

Overall this is a good first budget by the Conservatives. A few niggles on my part. Putting money aside for future projects, whilst they have the money, is a good thing for the Council. What helped most was the £186,575 surplus from the previous year when the Liberal Democrats were in power. For the future the Conservatives need to keep the budget balanced and tax & spend accordingly. Relying on reserves to keep the Town Council from raising Council Tax is a fool's errand.

Where is the Conservative fund for Eynesbury Manor?

After the Conservatives annexed the the Town Ward of Eynesbury Hardwicke Parish (part of Parklands and most of Eynesbury Manor) to St Neots, the Conservatives went on the rampage blaming the Liberal Democrats. Yet this blog worked out the Conservatives pushed this annexation through.

Before the 2010 General Election the Conservatives put out a leaflet. In the last paragraph it says:

So under the new Conservative run Town Council this has all been forgotten. As the Conservatives said: "as you were expected to pay considerably more the money should be spent on Eynesbury."

Having said the above what are the Conservatives doing now they are in power? Nothing of course. No new money set aside specifically for the area. So none of the extra money coming in from the annexed area is specifically going to this area. In 2010/11Accounts, the Town Council receives £16,121 from its share of the abolition of Eynesbury Hardwicke PC. Was this money put aside? No. Did the incoming Conservatives put this money aside? No!

At the 2010 elections the Conservatives went to town on this subject. Once in power the Conservatives are silent on this subject. They have forgotten what they said. 

HDC still does not understand the New Homes Bonus

In the draft budget for 2012/13, the Conservative run Huntingdonshire District Council still doesn't get the reason for the New Homes Bonus (NHB). In the draft budget it says:

Members have expressed interest in the use of the Bonus. It is not ring-fenced for specific communities but there is ample evidence within this report that it will be used to enable the protection of services and for in investment in key growth areas.

The Government that pays the New Homes Bonus informs the public that HDC should be consulting with the communities which are accepting development on how the money should be spent. Yet HDC simply ignore this and carry on its merry way.

An Example:
Conservative controlled Wychavon District Council has been able to do a consultation and have a written policy toward their New Homes Bonus money. They even have loads of Parish Councils.

In the Wychavon policy it says:

(ii) Development in towns and villages
(a) Development within a Town or Parish area
Where development takes place in Droitwich Spa, Evesham, Pershore or the rural areas of the district, the Council will normally award up to 40% of the NHB accruing to be reinvested in the local community. This reward will not be ringfenced to any particular use but it must deliver ‘added value’ to the local community and area and where possible, benefit those communities close to any new development.
(b) Significant developments adjacent to towns
It is likely that some of the urban extensions to the three towns, which may be constructed over the next few years, may be delivered outside the administrative boundary of the town whilst clearly serving the growth of the urban area and reliant of amenities and services in the urban area.
The Council may determine that the NHB payments to be reinvested in local communities, in circumstances where it is serving urban growth, is split between the town and the rural parish(es) accommodating the urban growth. Of the allocation in (a) above, the split will normally be 80% to the town and 20% to the Parish.


In Wychavon up to 40% of New Homes Bonus money can go to the local community accepting this development. Not exactly what I would like to see. But it does go some way to meeting the needs of the Towns accepting developments.

The Wychavon NHB policy goes on:

9. Procedure for payment
1. The Council’s Executive Board will determine and authorise the release of any payments under the NHB scheme. The Council will publish on its website an annual statement of the NHB monies attributable to each town or parish area. Payments will generally be held until there is a commitment to spend the monies.


In a recent FOI request I was informed HDC cannot work out the New Homes Bonus attributable to St Neots. Yet Conservative run Wychavon will be doing so!


Before I get too carried away, there are difference between Wychavon DC and Huntingdonshire DC. These are:

Population: W=117,000 / H=167,300
Area: W=256.2 sq mi / H=352.3 sq mi
Density: W=456.7/sq mi / H=474.9/sq mi
Council Tax proposed for 2012/13: W= £108.44 (Zero increase) H=£127.17 (2.5% increase)

Even with a population density slightly lower, Conservative run Wychavon DC has a policy on New Homes Bonus and a lower Council Tax rate which isn't rising. In Huntingdonshire, we have a Conservative run Council with no real policy on New Homes Bonus, apart from denying its intended use, and is looking to put up the Council Tax.

HDC changes tune of South Street Toilets

Conservative run Town Council has put £55,000 for the refurbishment of South Street Public Toilets closed by HDC because they wanted to knock them down and build flats. The reasons given were:

3. TOILETS AT SOUTH STREET, ST NEOTS

3.1 It is generally acknowledged that, of the existing stock of town centre public conveniences, the facilities at South Street, St Neots, are the least effective both in terms of the quality of provision and their fit with adjoining land uses. Their location is shown on the plan at Annex A.

3.2 In recent years, property in the vicinity of the public convenience has been or is being converted to residential use and the quality of the buildings upgraded. The public convenience now is detracting from the amenity of the area.

This has been a theme of HDC. In 2006 the South Street Toilets were described as thus:

"Furthermore the setting is considered inappropriate in the context of adjacent redevelopment and the demolition of the site is recommended."

"The Panel were apprised of the poor condition of the public conveniences and their inappropriate location in a conservation area."

HDC believes these toilets are inappropriate for South Street and inappropriate for a Conservation Area. Yet HDC is looking to allow SNTC to refurbish and re-open these toilets even though HDC believes Public Toilets are inappropriate in this area.

Which is it HDC? Does HDC believe these public toilets are inappropriate or are they now appropriate because the idea of demolishing them and building flats didn't even take off?


The trouble is I can't believe reasons HDC give for decisions because they change according to the decision HDC wants. If these toilets are inappropriate then do something else with them rather than allowing an inappropriate use!

Conservative run HDC doesn't take Osborne's money

In the initial draft budget the Conservative run HDC is NOT taking the money made available for another year of freezing Council Tax. Events may change, but as first pointed out on this blog, the Osborne money to freeze the Council Tax for a year will mean cuts in future years. Something the Conservatives don't seem to want to do.

This very Conservative run Council seems to be saying NO to George Osborne.

Are our District Councillors attending meetings?

I took a quick look at the attendance records of St Neots District Councillors at meetings from the HDC website and the results are:

1st. Andrew Hansard: 100%

2nd. Barry Chapman: 86%

3rd. Paula Longford: 75%

4th. Roger Harrison: 75%

5th. Steve van de Kerkhove: 73%

6th. Rodney Farrer: 71%

7th. David Harty: 71%

8th. Andrew Jennings: 67%

and last of all lagging behind the rest is.....

9th. Paul Ursell: 50%