Friday 17 February 2012

Labour run Ipswich Borough Council - a budget for jobs and growth

At the end of the month, Ipswich Borough Council will vote on the first Labour budget for 8 years, certain Tory and Lib Dem commentators were already stating that they thought we would raise Council tax, but even with the cut in grants from the Tory/Lib Dem national government we have managed to freeze council tax.

But we have also manged to produce a budget for jobs and growth, these are the key points;

1. First Labour budget for 8 years
2. A Budget For Jobs and Growth
a) Major investment in jobs and skills
b) First new council houses in over 20 years
3. No cuts to frontline services
4. A freeze in council tax

The establishment of a £1.5million Jobs and Skills Investment Fund. A report to the March Executive will set out how this Fund will focus on:

Up-front and one-off investment in initiatives that will support jobs and skills issues in the next year

Initiatives that would provide a return and enable the creation of a revolving fund

Initiatives that the Council would support over a number of years;

A £5 million a year programme for the provision of new affordable housing – mainly via the construction of the first new council houses in Ipswich in 20 years.

A £1 million revolving fund to bring empty homes back into use;

Reintroduction of renovation grants to support improvements to homes in the private sector.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's good that this governemnt is allowing council's to build new council houses isn't it?

Alasdair, can you explain why the last Labour government didn't allow council's to build new council houses?

Alasdair Ross said...

The last Government intruduced schemes to hep councils build houses- The Tory run Ipswich Council did not bother to try to build any.
This is one scheme that the new Govt has not scrapped and we are happy to work with them to help Ipswich residents

Anonymous said...

Alasdair, the Labour government you seem so proud of were only willing to lend the money to local councils. The same government that nearly bankrupted this country wasting money on stupid schemes that never worked. A bit like some of the hairbrained schemes YOUR administration is content on inflicting on the people of Ipswich.

People of Ipswich, watch your council tax bills go up by stupid amounts in future years. Labour's excuse will only go as far as blaming a coalition government. Watch it happen...