Politicians' love/hate relationship with 'The Bristolian': Cllr Geoff Gollop Joe Banks Tony Gosling

Geoff Gollop, Conservative Councillor for Westbury on Trym, joins Tony and Martin.  Also Joe Banks, Journalist, joins Tony and Martin.

https://politicsthisweek.wordpress.com/2023/11/09/not-the-bcfm-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-165/

Local Councils don't have enough money to pay for social care.  UK economy plateaus.  UK inflation.  Bristol Budget - Council in deficit, but not bankrupt.  Clean Air Zone.  Consultation over Council Tax Reduction Scheme for those on low wages.  Bristol Council struggling to get Council Tax - Bristol Cable.  Bristol highest rent outside London.  How the Council changed under the Mayoral system.  NHS and social care funding.  Bristol Energy £30m to £40m loss.  Bristol Beacon £60m to £80m over spend.  Councillors couldn't scrutiny.  Bristol Arena.  London Ulez over spend - Telegraph - Bristol mayor warns councils could end up providing only social care and children’s services Bristol City Council is facing a £32 million funding black hole over the next few years We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info The mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees has warned that councils could end up providing only social care and children’s services due to prolonged funding cuts. Since 2010 councils in England have received less money from the government while also facing rising demand for services. Bristol City Council faces a funding gap over the next five years of about £32 million, with a worst case of £81 million, according to the latest medium-term financial plan. This looks at how the council will struggle to balance its budget from this year until 2029. The council runs a wide range of services from bins to parks, libraries and housing for homeless people. The funding gap looks at how much money the council is expected to receive from council tax and government grants, compared to how much it needs to spend. Mr Rees said examples like Birmingham City Council, which recently effectively declared bankruptcy, showed that local authorities might eventually only be able to afford to provide social care and children’s services, during a full council meeting on Tuesday, October 31. He said: “We cannot come through 13 years of austerity without it having an impact on people’s lives. We’ve faced a perfect storm of increasing demand, the cost of living crisis and the global pandemic. At the same time we’ve had increasing costs of providing services to meet those demands. “It’s also been difficult to recruit a workforce, as a result of Brexit but also because of the housing crisis, with the unaffordability of life within Bristol. The scale of challenge facing local authorities financially is clearly illustrated by places like Wokingham and Birmingham. Local authorities could end up as places that simply provide adult social care and some children’s services, with no capacity to do anything else.” Green councillor Patrick McAllister added: “We still face a £20 million budget gap next year, rising to nearly £32 million by [2029]. Barring intervention from central government, the day will soon come where Bristol City Council is no longer able to meet its statutory service levels. “The primary cause of this is 13 cruel years of austerity from Westminster, starving public services of funding. This has been worsened by financial mismanagement at Bristol City Council. The human cost is obvious but dig a little deeper and the false economics of austerity are clear.” Tory councillors said they could not vote to approve the medium term financial plan, due to lingering questions about exactly how much money is raised from the Clean Air Zone. This year £5 million of income from drivers will go towards subsidising bus routes. Conservative Cllr Geoff Gollop said: “This situation is far too serious for cheap point-scoring. We know that £5 million of CAZ income is being used to pay this year’s transport levy. But we have no indication of how much income it will raise this year, let alone the next financial year. It seems inappropriate to have an MTFP that doesn’t quantify this income.”

Palestine Action Blockade of Elbit’s Bristol HQ Continues Overnight! Palestine Action’s blockade of the only access to Elbit’s weapons headquarters in Bristol is continuing overnight. We’re calling on all media to cover the ongoing action at the premises. The address is: Elbit Systems, 30 Hempton Lane, Bristol, BS32 4AR Dozens are supporting activists who’ve attached themselves to each other and blocked the private road in Aztec West which leads to the premises, disrupting the site’s operation by preventing access. Elbit Systems supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleet, and 85% of its land-based military equipment, and are vital in the state terror inflicted on Palestine.