Nottingham council leader hits back at Sunak for ‘wasting public money’
Councillor David Mellen said that Nottingham City Council has a ‘bigger democratic mandate’ than Rishi Sunak.
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Your support makes all the difference.The leader of Nottingham City Council has hit back after the Prime Minister suggested the authority has “let down” its residents through financial mismanagement.
Councillor David Mellen said that the Government was “in a league of its own” when it came to “wasting public money, mismanagement and poor decision-making”, and said Rishi Sunak had “yet to put himself before the public” in a general election.
His comments came after Mr Sunak said on Thursday that the city council, which is Labour-led, had “let down its residents” after issuing a section 114 notice in November last year, meaning it cannot deliver a balanced budget.
The recent Covid Inquiry into the PPE fiasco has further shown that when it comes to wasting public money, mismanagement and poor decision-making, this Government is in a league of its own
Speaking at a youth centre in Mansfield, Mr Sunak said the council had made a “series of poor decisions”, including the failed Robin Hood Energy scheme, which he claimed illustrated how Labour would manage the economy if they came to power.
Responding to Mr Sunak’s comments, Mr Mellen said: “The people of Nottingham put their faith in the Labour-run council by electing 51 Labour councillors out of 55 in last year’s local election while the Conservatives failed to win a single seat.
“This speaks volumes and gives our council a bigger democratic mandate than the currently unelected Prime Minister who has yet to put himself before the public in a general election. We all know the outcome that this will bring this year.
“The recent Covid Inquiry into the PPE fiasco has further shown that when it comes to wasting public money, mismanagement and poor decision-making, this Government is in a league of its own.
“Robin Hood Energy was closed by the council three years ago – we have rectified our mistakes, but this Government continues to cause chaos.
“Rishi Sunak should listen to the Conservative leader of Nottinghamshire County Council who, alongside 25 other Conservative leaders, wrote to him in early December saying that failure to provide additional funding would mean England’s largest councils would face the prospect of painful reductions to frontline services, raising council tax to the maximum permitted, and using reserves at unsustainable levels to balance budgets.
Rather than sorting out the broken care system, as the Conservatives have promised to do for the last decade, the Prime Minister passed the buck to Nottingham people
“Raising council tax to pay for adult social care simply puts the burden back on to the people of Nottingham.
“Rather than sorting out the broken care system, as the Conservatives have promised to do for the last decade, the Prime Minister passed the buck to Nottingham people.
“The reduction of funding from government, £100 million less every year since 2013 in the case of Nottingham City, combined with rising costs of adults and children’s social care is pushing local services to breaking point.
“We cannot afford to wait and need a general election now.”
Mr Sunak also claimed that there was “clear mismanagement” by the city council and made comparisons with the Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council, which has not issued a section 114 notice.
He also said the council should “take responsibility” and “not try and pass the buck”.
The council launched a public consultation over proposed service cuts last month after revealing it was facing a £23 million overspend this year and a £50 million budget gap for 2024-25.
The authority has previously said that its revenue support grant from the Government has reduced by £97 million every year since 2013-14, with its “core spending power” falling by 28.2% in real terms compared to 19.4% for all councils in England, according to figures from the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities.
A decision is due soon from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on whether commissioners will be sent in to oversee the council.
Simon Hoare, the local government minister, said in a letter last month that the council was “continuing to fail to comply with its best value duty” and that Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove was “minded” to send in commissioners.
The deadline for parties to make submissions on the issue passed on Tuesday.