‘These young people are being failed’: Inside the councils at risk of bankruptcy

Councils have warned that many are still at risk of going bankrupt - despite £64 billion in funding for English local authorities which ministers have just announced for next year.
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Michael Gove said it represented a "real terms increase" of almost 6.5%. But many local authorities say they'll have to put up council tax and slash services in order to balance their books.
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[@seanknapton7449]

There should be a criminal investigation into the way these Councils are going bankrupt

[@British_Cocoa]

A lot of people will be going to prison

[@jamesbarbour8400]

​@@British_CocoaI sure hope so, Council employees and their bosses like to play very fast and loose with other peoples money.

[@nicholasr39]

Or maybe they are just underfunded to the point they struggle to provide all the services people have become accustomed to when previous governments funded them better. Do you really think council tax funds everything? Previous governments have also encouraged privatisation of things like rubbish collection, this is where all the money goes, companies like Veolia making profits. What do you expect when the same attitude was to privatise things like water and look at the state of that

[@davidforman6191]

​@@jamesbarbour8400Westminster has halved Council budgets while expecting and passing on more responsibilities to them. But the English public hate paying tax so there you go.

[@SolidFury]

​@davidforman6191 This right here. Its generally not the councils fault in most cases.

[@rapturas]

Thurrock bankrupted itself by "investing" in high risk ventures that experts warned against. Insult to injury - they force all residents to pay council tax even if claiming benefits. They also boasted about being the most profitable council in the whole of the UK. Why arent these criminals in prison?

[@mondem8756]

Because it is one big mafia, councils cooperate with courts

[@BrayzenBull]

You didn't see Woking then...

[@user-zm8ov6hc7s]

Because we vote for amateurs to run the councils.

[@dean9235]

Because when you are an elite you can just walk away from criminality. No questions asked.

[@georgebain5734]

The reason why so many councils don't publish a yearly audit They have a lot to hide especially missuse of tax payers money.

[@eloiinvestigates]

Public sector funded and they don't publish audits of the funding structure? Insane. Same situation in Ireland; they don't reveal the pensions of ex-politicians. The reason is because many of them are on multiple massive pensions.

[@chrishyde1216]

Meanwhile, Michelle Mone is handed a £60 million profit from public funds.

[@MrSBGames]

Oh there was loads more than her, she is just the tip of of the corrupt iceberg. For example, look up Full Support Healthcare and how well they did from ppe...

[@sarahmcewanevpeace1887]

What annoys me is there's cuts everywhere, and job losses, but yet they can still rip up road's and tear down buildings to make way for higher price home's and then send money elsewhere, before thinking of our own, what more do they want????

[@johngaskin8510]

You are right. They are ripping up road to put in cycle lanes. And they have are still diligently installing ULEZ cameras. How is responsible? Is it Tories, Labour, LibDem or Greens. It doesn't matter, they would all make the same decisions. Why? They is a government enthroned behind the government we see and know to be our government. They are the ones making the decisions. And the government we see and know to be our government are following what they are told. How do we respond? We need in the next general election in 2025 not to vote for any of the establish parties; Tories, Labour, LibDem or Greens. Instead vote for non-estabiish parties like The Heritage Party, Reclaim UK Party, Reform UK Party. And independent candidates. We need to shake up things drastically. Thank you for your thoughts. God bless

[@benfordslaw5105]

They can still find millions to waste on green initiatives that dont end up working.

[@Col-dk6pi]

My council spent £400000 on my local library, looked more like £40000 worth of work in reality. Then 6 months later shut it down. They waste so much money, kurupt to the core

[@capitalism2128]

If you scrutinise it well you find that the contractors are connected with the same person that put out the tender 😢

[@AntonyClayton-eq1ul]

Snap. East Riding of Yorkshire Council: had an article in the local paper warning their financial future was uncertain; following second covid lock down. October 2023, shut the main lending, IT room; and reference libraries; Treasure House and Archives sections. Crammed a token library service into a small building nearby. Fraction of previous services e.g. computer printing, colour photocopying. Three computers as opposed to 17. Scanner / copier / printer machine removed - but scanning to E-mail function not available as a paid for public service. No interest in restoring the service - just specious argumentation, and superfluous verbosity. Council is spending £4.1M - according to a 'FOI' request - on an extension to the building so that the registry office functions can be transferred under one roof. Together with allegedly, a library refurbishment. No public consultation; or bye your leave. Oh, and this is the council that is infamous internationally, for the 'traffic light' accident blackspot junction it created. Criminal insanity inflicting itself upon us.

[@EdMcF1]

Perhaps they need to cut some layers of management and the high salaries that go with them.

[@bowjana8128]

Exactly sat around paid to send emails all day

[@Thebishop77]

And lie about working from home

[@eliaspanayi3465]

It's interesting when you take a look at the sheer amount of money wasted by the councils.

[@eloiinvestigates]

Yeah, on salaries and pensions for the executives/ managers. They're already rich, and now it's a case of getting their children into a perma-elite position. The way it works is through rentierism; essentially rack-renting of tenants in the lower SES groups... It will result in a population collapse.

[@handsfree1000]

The money is going to a few obscenely rich American companies and individuals who don’t pay fair tax

[@eliaspanayi3465]

@@handsfree1000 no its not

[@andrewjames9996]

Worst ones I know are Wiltshire, Salisbury City Council and BCP. The only thing that keeps Bournemouth relevant is the 2 theatres and beach, the beach is rough as old boots. Salisbury waste money on vanity and paths that no one uses. The have no money to reopen the theatre despite renting it to the NHS as a vaccination hub. No one knows where the has vanished to.

[@fabianrares]

Most money from contracts and funding go to very few, which are already morbidly rich and untaxed... England is now like india, with only 2 classes. Very rich and very poor.

[@Lo-to7zh]

Why don’t they blame themselves? Councillors often steal taxpayers money and make stupid contracts with their friends and private companies

[@ibrstellar1080]

Sadly it won't get any better under Labour as they are all under the thumb of the same Billderberg run NGO'S and the WEF cult. They would rather close Hospitals and social care facilities and build the 5G surveillance grid and spend billions on Big Pharma.

[@rachelkristine4669]

The states is beginning to head that way as well! 🤦‍♀️

[@Bungle-UK]

So normal people don’t exist?

[@0rcsrnazis]

The states is far more unequal than Britain. @@rachelkristine4669

[@northwestcoast]

The funding of social care is broken. The council attempted to steal my home to pay for 2 years of my mum’s care and when I refused to be exploited like that, they became desperate and aggressive. It was a very stressful time

[@jrosam9569]

Social care seems to translate to debt collectors a friend of mine had the same experience got some legal advice sandbagged them for two years until old enough to have a right to live in the property. As you say nasty with it.

[@doctorpsylus]

That nastyness comes from 1 location= Clowning Street

[@ibrstellar1080]

@@doctorpsylus They are just puppets taking orders from their Billderberg run NGO'S.

[@rachelkristine4669]

Could be worse. Yall could gave absolutely NOTHING , like we do here in the good ole Capitalistic USA! There is ALWAYS someone out there who has it far worse.........Gaza comes to mind, along with Ukraine! 🤷‍♀️

[@jimmoynahan9910]

It's called the NHS. This story makes no sense.

[@pauldray2108]

"we gonna have to make cuts and and" why not take a cut in the CEO of kent council's 150Grand salaray?

[@WiseAngelUK]

Look up Sunderlands CEO salary

[@alxl6385]

Still plenty money for temporary traffic lights to left up for weeks on end without any road works actually being done.

[@MartinParsons-tr6wi]

That's definitely a conspiracy. There's a 4 way one on the Fosse that's been there a year now. There's never any work being done. There's been many others too, mostly completely unnecessary, no work being done

[@alxl6385]

@@MartinParsons-tr6wi Yeah, absolutely. Certainly needs investigating and exposing. My guess is councilors handing out contracts for road works to their cronies, using tax payers money.

[@tandme2342]

Could it be because most are utterly incompetent ! Wasting millions in my town on pointless traffic schemes.

[@christinepayne5206]

all about making lots of money out of car owners to many fat cats

[@davidhosking436]

Look at the earrings of the top councillors in kent its over 300k a year the council has one of the highest tax in the UK .

[@Quietriot1970]

It's the government who are to blame don't be fooled!!!!

[@MrFourOneTwo]

Earrings? Lol

[@tomaszkarpinski5767]

​@@MrFourOneTwoWith no argument the last thing to say is grammar :D

[@alistairmonro]

​@@MrFourOneTwovery expensive earrings 😅

[@doctorpsylus]

I think its funny that the 300 K they got is gone they all invested in the fake solar farm scam 21 billion at the last count & 17 councils spaffed all their budget on a get rich quick scheme that is still a farmers field !

[@davidbowie2046]

They always blame social care. Never housing immigrants, staff parties, diversity quotas or overly paid managers wages.

[@hanselmansell7555]

Listen to yourself mate, Bowie would absolutely hate you.

[@davidbowie2046]

@@hanselmansell7555 Bowie soon moved out of Kent once he'd made enough money!

[@wrestlingp]

@@hanselmansell7555 great comment

[@hanselmansell7555]

@@davidbowie2046 and what has that got to do with anything? You realise his whole family was 'diverse' don't you?

[@MrSBGames]

​@@hanselmansell7555everything he said is right. Stop trying to pick a fight with your incorrect ideals.

[@ballshippin3809]

Our institutions are starting to look very post Soviet.

[@shauncameron8390]

After government mismanagement, privatization and austerity were inevitable.

[@maigepresents5840]

The russian economy is doing better than most European ones right now...

[@ballshippin3809]

@@shauncameron8390 Actually it's more due to bureaucratic centralization over the decades that has led to the failure and stagnation of many of these institutions, not privatisation. This is why socialist systems ultimately fail in the long run despite being good for the first few years.

[@therealrobertbirchall]

​@@ballshippin3809oh yes and how does it benefit the people if electricity prices quadruple practically overnight? The profits form which are then shipped overseas to secret bank accounts? Or to allow private water companies to borrow billions to pay huge dividends to foreign shareholders while the infrastructure they are responsible for is literally falling apart and they are just during sewerage into the sea and rivers because that's cheaper than actually doing what their customers pay them to do ie process it and make it safe. The neocon lie is exploding in the faces of the fools who have been voting tory all these years. You can't run a country like it's mamas purse.

[@mingmingyip19]

​@maigepresents5840 yes, because Russia have natural resources. However, the Uk has very few. Days of post colonial wealth are well and truly over, the quicker you get use to the better.

[@CHuzz7777]

I bet I could find savings. My local council couldn’t provide services for special needs kids but it spends £7 million a year on maintaining parks. When you do the maths on salaries and machinery you’ve pretty much still got most of the parks money so where’s it going? They also spent hundreds of millions on a theatre refurbishment and investment in an energy company while cutting back services.

[@benfordslaw5105]

Before the era of mass uncontrolled migration we could afford to have parks and special needs kids services.

[@wavydavy9816]

When I was a teenager we had a youth club which was available 3 nights a week where you could play pool, watch TV, play games/console, make tea and toast and (most importantly) interact with each other in a safe and supervised environment. The staff were all fantastic and helpful, the place was funded by the council and it certainly helped society and individual children in countless ways. 'Try to stop them breaking windows, keep the kids off the street' (Angelic Upstarts - Youth Leader) The tory govt love to make life difficult for poor people because that way they're much more malleable and easy to manipulate.

[@abazely2743]

Vocational work (particularly voluntary) has no attraction in our secular,selfish country where it is now always the government "must do something about it".

[@simdencard]

Same here. We had a youth club to go to 3 days a week and played pool, tennis, etc, and most importantly, it helped to keep us off the streets where idle hand's can make work for the devil they say. 😮

[@Quietriot1970]

Well said I went to a school youth club and it really helped me

[@LelaUk]

@@abazely2743 were worked more than most 40- hr plus week unpaid overtime and being a frequent user of food bank without those people giving up their spare time where would have i been?

[@WildOwlFilms]

As a youthworker I can only express my frustration and disgust at how much the youth service has been destroyed under the Conservatives during the last 13 years.

[@abubardewa939]

In Britain, everywhere is deprived. All there is nice victorian buildings and poor citizens who are one step away from homelessness.

[@macmachine]

No it's not. No more than France or Spain or Germany, all of which I've spent a lot of time in.

[@toxiczombiewolf5692]

Yeah its not great

[@dwb1980]

BS. I hate this fake news by ignorant 'I know it all' folk. I see alot of this country and its not that bad. Stop putting our country down. We are doing alright overall no worse than alot of other places.

[@therealrobertbirchall]

​@@macmachinethe average standard of living in the UKs is lower than the poorest parts of Scicly. At least the 'facist' Italian government makes sure everyone has enough to eat.

[@ibrstellar1080]

@@therealrobertbirchall poverty is on the rise in pretty much all EU countries and North America and it's all by design.

[@robertburns8529]

No disrespect but councils cut services and keep everyone in jobs the directors wages are shocking and the wastage is shocking it’s amazing how they spend everything before the April budget comes in. £152”000 year director says it all. Rogues.

[@DW-dd4iw]

Years ago, Council Tax was a few hundred quid per year and everything worked like clockwork. Lots of police, no potholes, bins were collected etc etc. Now we pay thousands a year to the council and everything is falling apart!!!

[@magnuscritikaleak5045]

American paid Poltiicans who are usuruious money lenders

[@JohnSmith-ux3tt]

What's different? Illegals. Anything else.

[@therealrobertbirchall]

Thats the magic of the 'free market'.

[@FayFairley-hi3zu]

Councils don't get the council tax it goes to central government! Things will get much worse as the government run the Globalist Agenda.

[@oldskoolordie]

This is what I dont understand

[@TheTimdoyle]

The answer is not more money but a complete removal of all staff and replacement with competent people.

[@alexritchie4586]

I agree. I often see people saying 'Just throw money at them' but let's face it, since COVID our local authorities and institutions have become out and out combative against their own constituents, often viewing them as annoyances who need to be dispatched with the Quadruple D Tactic; Delay, Defer, Deflect, Distract. I've noticed a distinct 'US vs. Them' mentality that has permeated government at all levels, from the bottom to the top.

[@john_mega]

The TimDoyle - simpleton edition

[@xanderjames8682]

Eren yeager solution

[@IxchelMoon-Star]

what a joke ask the MP's to take pay cuts

[@user-qo8ci2ye6v]

And what would that acheive? This is about local government not national government

[@MartinParsons-tr6wi]

​@@user-qo8ci2ye6vThey're all on the self serving gravy train

[@_Meriwether]

Nobody is addressing the elephant in the room. When you increase the population, you get more demand on services. This should not be a surprise.

[@tonypriest3567]

Not rocket science is it get your self a calculator 100000 migrants in and put on benefits and given housing and 20000 out most with more sense and more money than to stay in this country and let this government bleed them dry of there hard earned cash !!!! And not wanting to pay for immigrants who have NO way of paying not one penny in to the system so my question is WOULD you stay in this country if you had money and a well payed job waiting for you overseas and you have kids that will depend on you for years to come !!!!! O yes and what will happen when all the councils in the country go bankrupt BIRMINGHAM COVENTRY on verge to name just a few

[@insertname2035]

It's adult social care and children's social services that's eating up council budgets. If British people actually took care of their own families, this wouldn't be a problem.

[@JohnSmith-ux3tt]

Leftists can't cope with that concept.

[@JohnSmith-ux3tt]

​@@insertname2035"British" people? Yeah. Right.

[@nothereandthereanywhere]

And the income increases from the larger population. Seems many leave this point out somehow.

[@dalebenton3354]

Ive lost complete faith in this Country,Every thing just keeps on going up all the time and carrys on rising,Is it because people "want" more money has to always be so much pure GREED thats what make my blood boil 😡😠👿

[@monipenny408]

that my dear is the beauty of capitalism, it is the best system in the world, so say Churchill....he would say that wouldn't he. It is the best system for people with capital.

[@stephenholmes1036]

​@@monipenny408All 6 parties are all the same of the establishment, for the establishment. Its about getting into power and keeping power.

[@mingmingyip19]

And what is the alternative? ​@monipenny408

[@doctorpsylus]

@@mingmingyip19 3 choices 1 Enforced general election ( not gonna happen ) 2 Military take over - im up for that to get the scammer out of Clowning street 3 Country wide strike EVERYONE downs tools & sits at home ,until we get a general election AND a total revamp of parliament & the lords to be abolished along with 500 quid a day allowance & expenses all the be abolished , Min wage for Mps & 15 % of shares dividend net profit to go to a " council house build project " You dont declare earnings = you go to jail , which scammer sunak is now negotiating for factory jails USA style . for example 1 months lords expenses could buy base materials to start builds on 1 bed bungalows for the elderly struggling with larger homes & utilites .

[@monipenny408]

none really. because the west has not purged or reign in their oligarchs, royal class, who will always exploit their own people using their enormous wealth, which explains why they so loved capitalism, which enables extreme wealth accumulation, which is then used to lobby, influence, select leaders and policies which benefits them, which creates mono or duopoly often hiding behind mega soulless corporations that we see today The French Revolution did get rid of their royal families, but all european families are deeply connected, almost incestuous and so they and their noble oligarchy families are still intact and overtime will continue their rapacious policies all over the western world. China on the other hand went through a period of purging their capitalist class, too it was painful, but it taugh surviving capitalist a real lesson in humanity. I don't think the west is quite ready to do that yet, until starvation sets in. We have now seen rising homelessness, so in the west we are on our way...the road to perdition. @@mingmingyip19

[@alexduggan68]

The brutal math of uncontrolled immigration. Not enough people paying into the system, too many people taking from it. Either raise taxes to seventy percent for all workers, or make tough decisions about who lives here.

[@sillypuppy5940]

It's the demographic timebomb going off - and politicians were warned about it at least 40 years ago. What did they do? Nothing.

[@CandyKoRn]

Most people couldn't afford a further hike in taxes - a huge chunk of the working population are barely making ends meet, it's no wonder people go onto benefits because what's the point in working and still struggling?

[@benfordslaw5105]

100% agree. The politicians think we are stupid enough not to notice what they are doing.

[@adamree30]

We could equally argue the English are too lazy to work...

[@adamree30]

And speaking of Math...what qualifications do you have? This immigrant has a first class math degree and employs 7 other people...

[@outlawJosieFox]

I cannot find an NHS dentist in 5 Midlands counties and now must pay £180 OUT OF BENEFITS at a filthy private practice to get a tooth extraction without any follow up treatment!!!!! YEAH WHERE IS ALL THE NHS BREXIT CASH BORIS??

[@Soundboy817]

I think this is being done on purpose … it’s leading to something nationwide 🧐

[@Karlemids]

Great Reset.

[@Robby334]

Are we surprised as all the local authority money and government money is being swallowed up by looking after all the economic migrants?

[@piddlydiddly]

@@Robby334 more is spent on pensioners than migrants, do some research, can't plead ignorance forever.

[@Karlemids]

@@piddlydiddly pensioners have PAYED IN to the system! migrants never will!!

[@Robby334]

I am a pensioner and have paid into the system since 15 years old most pensioners have @@piddlydiddly

[@Truereform]

If your back has an itch, you scratch it away and go to sleep. If you're a ceo of a company that sells cream, cream for stopping itches, eventually you stop itches. No more people buy. So you design a cream that stops itches but creates new itches. Now you can build new creams to fight the new itches. This is the problem with the world today. We are living inside systems within systems, within systems. All failing, without any conversations about fixing it.

[@ange1098]

🎯👍

[@therealrobertbirchall]

The pharmacological industry is the perfect metaphor for the wonders of the 'free market'.

[@ChrisKeziahHyde]

Tbh I don't think anyone knows how to fix or what to fix and the idea of fixing something that's fundamentally broken can be quite daunting for most people to consider.

[@alexritchie4586]

I honestly believe the reason why mental illness is skyrocketing is because the people of this country and others know that the system has failed, the government knows the system has failed, the people know the government knows the system has failed, and the government knows the people know the system has failed, but for some reason it's vitally important we all perform this constant, cognitively dissonant pantomime in which we all mutually pretend the system hasn't failed and merely needs a little tinkering applied to it now and again.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

This only works if you can only get an itch once in your entire life. If you let's say are a normal human being and it happens once every few months and for some people with conditions every single day, you will have a lot of business.

[@gordy4459]

Oxfordshire Council announced they are putting up Poll Tax by 5%...less than two weeks later they said they were awarding themselves a 5.49% pay rise... Looking at their salaries is very easy to see where a lot of our money goes!!....

[@DamiensTrainsandTravels]

All these cuts and still can't afford the basics, makes you wonder where this money is actually going....

[@JohnSmith-ux3tt]

5 star hotel rooms.

[@DamiensTrainsandTravels]

@@JohnSmith-ux3tt More than that I reckon.

[@dean9235]

Central government.

[@norman7527]

Where the F is the mountain of Council Tax money going. I've recently returned from Italy where the council tax was abolished years ago for first home renters/owners and life style and health seems to be a world away from rotten and not so great Britain

[@ebonyeyes1986]

People keep saying its council cuts, they are lying to there teeth. My local council shuts things down so they can sell it to highest bidder. You go to local council building they have electric cars and bikes and the town center is empty because they charge through roof. Look at how much these councilors make, you would be shocked. Its not the goverments on this one, its the council

[@davidforman6191]

It's the govt. Councils have been selling assets due to central govt funding cuts. Of course, the tory press blame the councils.

[@ZafarIqbal-jl8yq]

Council=mafia 😮

[@JulietCrowson]

It's probably both

[@PSYCHIC_PSYCHO]

The hands of councils is being deliberately forced by the Central Government, and has been the case since 2010.

[@londonhodnet4079]

What about the money going to housing illegal immigrants in hotels?

[@user-mh1gf4cu7o]

The only true words spoken on this 👏

[@michaelgoulding6609]

that is where all the money is going, on immigrants, its why everything is sky high, cos there,s tax & vat on eveything, it costs over 9m per day, so no wonder everywhere is broke, if they give them nothing, they.ll stop coming, they come here to the uk cos they know we are a soft touch & they get what they want, they should be sent back home as soon as they land here.. & receive nothing, our own people that have paid into the system & also their familys that have paid into the system should take priority.

[@PMMagro]

If authorities did their job that whoudl be way less (and it si a small part of the budget as is). Id their asylum applicatiosn where handled faster there whoudl be no need to wait so long, in hotels/BnBs that is. As obvioulsy not all will get their application accapted either it whould save a lot getting through them faster (only once you know they are turned down can you send them back).

[@Dontjudge103]

Immigration is good and they do much more than you 😂

[@sulavaca]

What happens when you run out of other people's money.

[@PMMagro]

You ask them to pay you just a little bit more?

[@paulmidsussex3409]

When they told local councils to act like the private sector, I don't think anyone was expecting Croydon to borrow £1.6bn, who do they think they are? Thames Water? It would have been cheaper to buy a private jet for each cabinet member.

[@leroysimon5692]

👍🏾

[@sammym9259]

Exactly

[@doctorpsylus]

Its not come out yet but the fake solar farm is the key here , 17 councils invested some 20 Billion in total & Boris`s m8 just took the money & ran you cant generate that much with solar or wed all have it

[@matthewprince9705]

The story of my home town is horrendous....

[@belkentens]

Yet we have millions to send to Ukraine

[@anthonypert574]

And house foreigners in hotels with out any chance of working for how many years yet keep our people living in door ways

[@trevorbryan9268]

The council chief executive wages are unbelievable.

[@chrisengland5523]

No they're not. The £150k mentioned in a post above is fairly typical for the CEO of any similar sized commercial organisation. Individual CEO's may or may not be worth that much, but if they are not, then they should be replaced.

[@trevorbryan9268]

@@chrisengland5523 tower Hamlets chief executive-£240 000( 2019) maybe more now.

[@trevorbryan9268]

@@chrisengland5523 plus expenses

[@JavaAndroid]

Why do I get the responsibility of feckless, irresponsible parents kids? And why aren't they jailed?

[@peterp7063]

Abolish the completely unaffordable local government final salary pensions NOW!

[@wecandothiswarriors]

And give the power to the WEF . Clown

[@TheCasualObservers]

You are proof of the success of right wing tabloids: The final salary pension scheme ended A DECADE AGO, in 2014. Everyone who has started at a council since then is on a standard career average pension, no better than most private sector schemes.

[@peterp7063]

@@TheCasualObservers I've long since given up reading any so-called newspapers - right or left. As for the final salary scheme a) the 'average' you refer to only applies to the last five years of employment, the financial effect of which is therefore little different to the previous regime, b) there is still a massive deficit in the scheme's funds so it IS STILL unaffordable, c) so what current funds there are should be changed to a defined benefit scheme - as almost all non-public sector employees have long since been on - with immediate effect. The present final salary scheme is also index-linked, unlike most defined benefit schemes, and thus protected from inflation. If civil servants, who also have final salary pensions, weren't so protected from inflation perhaps they might take greater care in preventing it.

[@therealrobertbirchall]

OK but increase the state pension to an amount we can actually live on first.

[@narannavan]

​@@peterp7063Tory joker. I bet you live in the home counties. Bet you're the first to ring the council when you see something that you don't like or need something.

[@markstv40]

I’ve seen so much of this in the care sector already, clients with difficult physical needs that were allocated 1h in the mornings now being reassessed to 30mins, carers will do a max of 25 mins work as 5mins needed for notes and then straight out the door , 30min calls now being reassessed to 15min calls for other clients where carers will refuse the call and I certainly don’t blame them, it’s a mess.

[@StephenBoothUK]

Where care has been outsourced to the private sector the norm is that visits are scheduled back to back so to get to their next client the carer has to cut short the visit to the client before. A client may be scheduled for a 30 minute visit but since the next client is 20 minutes away they get less than 10.

[@markstv40]

@@StephenBoothUK Yep absolutely agree regarding the travelling time in between and will even be more so prevalent on the morning calls where a carer has maybe been allocated 3/4 clients in the morning where they’ll naturally be clock watching as to not get backed up and ironically as a carer morning time is your more busiest period so it’s difficult to give that quality of care you want to give so as to get to the next client.

[@tomaszkarpinski5767]

Council has gone up twice as much for my house in oast 6 years. 60% is going for housing for healthy and young people who can work and pay for rental. Not only top bosses in council are earning crazy money. Simple housing officers and their supervisors are getting crazy money too. No roads to be fixed, no schools to be invested, no emergency services to be invested. Most of money are going for housing. As much as I support that for people in need, most of those residents are capable to work.

[@juliehanson8976]

I live in County Durham and have one of the highest council tax rates in the country, according to the media reports. We have nothing , the banks have gone , the major supermarket s don’t want to know. Yet we are the cradle of the railway s. Millions are invested around us , we don’t have a secondary school anymore. Children have to be bused into the schools in surrounding towns. We pay for other towns through our tax , I wonder how much money our county council has in its bank , that we don’t know about.

[@nicholasr39]

​@I_Love_My_Little_Willy that's what I've always said, they won't give one to me so easily despite me having a full time job and the ability to afford the full council housing rent without having to sponge off the system. They give priority to everyone who is unable or not willing to work and pay for it. This is why council estates have had antisocial behaviour because they house the wrong people, something for nothing society

[@davidforman6191]

How much is crazy money?

[@alexnogues4246]

Aaaaaah maybe without the Tatcher sell-off of Council housing (and the refusal by Tories to build any social housing), things would be a bit different, wouldn't they? Councils would not have to pay to private landlords for housing. The reality is people voted for the Tories against all logic, and now the results start showing for some people, but it's too late. They already sold off the country.

[@michaelp761]

The minimum wage allows you to earn £1000 + per month on a 40 hr week…..surely better than being a recipient to taxpayers .

[@stevegregson4357]

How many council taxes does it take to pay the salaries of all those ridiculous non job positions ? Diversity equality health safety and in and in need I say more

[@Lo-to7zh]

Why don’t they blame themselves? Councillors often steal taxpayers money and make stupid contracts with their friends and private companies

[@tonybuttie3038]

correct, also there are many people who are taking advantage,

[@sugarsweethoney3078]

Yep. I use to work for a council. There r lots of 'pen pusher' jobs and extortionate amount of waste. The biggest wasters r the salary and perks paid to top managements who r basically themselves a waste of time and money.

[@Lo-to7zh]

@@sugarsweethoney3078 tell us more

[@sugarsweethoney3078]

@@Lo-to7zh Let me tell u, when u can spend other people's money and not your own, u have no incentive to save. Not only in local govt but also central govt Each dept. argues for the max amount of money they can get then they do their best to spend, spend, spend = waste, waste, waste because at the end of the financial year if they haven't spent all that they got it means they can't argue for more in the next financial year. In any council/govt dept. there r countless managers, deputies, secretaries, advisors, consultants, and a vast army of nameless/hanger-ons/whatever. As a taxpayer u r paying for all their salaries, pensions, perks, expenses etc. It's a financial black hole, no wonder the country is in debt. Won't be surprised if the whole country goes bankrupt, not just the councils. The only people worth paying for are the front line workers such as cleaners, bin men, and the like otherwise, 60-70% of these so called, MPs, CEO/managers etc r a waste of time and money. Unfortunately, they r the last people to get the sack when things go wrong and money ran out because it is them who does the sacking so they sack and cut services instead of them getting the chop.

[@Spartan.357]

Well if the people who run the councils wernt on disgusting salaries.

[@christinepayne5206]

to many fat cats

[@mattsorrell9386]

Councils waste a lot aswell

[@Teambharat108]

Just go through the salaries these council staff gets especially the management! I know because I worked for one ! Local government has fraud department which is completely waste of time

[@allykhan8594]

Many are paid top jobs £100k+

[@wizzohizzo]

Fact They spunk all the money.

[@piddlydiddly]

while this is def true, you're talking 100k, which is pennies when local gov need and spend millions every week.

[@phrase2350]

I work for a county council and am stunned by the blatant disregard for finance. Nobody cares. They are happy to fund anything to make their lives easy. Nobody appears to be accountable yet there are endless chains of departments that need to approve spending. If it were a private business it would have gone bust a long time ago. Another national disgrace

[@DeuceBiggerHo]

Well if councils didn’t waste so much money on digging up the roads the money could be spent better elsewhere. There’s road works on almost every road in London and they are not being coordinated properly which is causing chaos to traffic flow and more pollution. If they had less sets of roadworks going on at a time and got the works done quickly and intelligently instead of leaving most of the building sites surrounded by cones and temporary lights for weeks sometimes months on end with nobody working on them most of the time, they could save an absolute bomb instead of squandering money and wasting everybody’s time and patience. On top of that Motorists pay enough tax to use the roads and were not getting our money’s worth

[@kidders2010]

Too many backhands being taken. Cost cutting. And as we have seen funds that should be used for the citizens of the country through taxes instead funding wars and genocide abroad.

[@daniel_913]

I live in Derby, and our city have gone to the rats over the past decade, it really has. Independent shops in the city centre can't seem to survive past 1-2 years and end up closing and then shops sit vacant. Derby city centre is dead in terms of footfall, our streets have been taken over by betting shops, discount phone and fast food outlets. Homeless are everywhere being anti-social and there is a constant smell of cannabis in the air. It's utterly depressing and it's no wonder people have stopped coming in. I will say this though, the council house had a full renovation job courtesy of the taxpayer. I suppose looking after their own is priority.

[@andrewjames9996]

Bournemouth is is the same since the neighbouring councils are now merged they have dragged the towns to an all new low. Bournemouth is on life support.

[@crzune]

That's most large towns and cities in the UK mate many places are the same.

[@DioBrando1996v]

Derby has pretty much always been like that

[@robertcoombes5444]

All part of the WEF agenda which channel 4 is well aware

[@jon-gz4ed]

we know that councils all waste money on thing that dont need doing ,where i live they spent 20,000 on 7 speed humps wich are not needed ,they just spend any money and go over budget so they dont get less ,they should start by laying of council office staff from the top and have pay cuts ,bankruptcy is down to mismanagement and bad spending so don t mke excuses you councils no the truth

[@danielglasgow8163]

13 years of cuts. Nothing works and the national.debt has gone up. So where's all the money gone? Why is no one asking that?

[@leedaintry2923]

It went in the tories back pockets.

[@TG-ts3xn]

Since 1997 we have seen decline everywhere. All due to immigration.

[@mbb05jb]

It amazes me how feckless councils can be.

[@mickadatwist1620]

"these young people are being failed"....its not the state responsibility to raise a child. Parenting is the key problem in this country.

[@lucyjones5789]

Mothers can’t stay home and raise a child anymore which happened in our day. Family values, close knit communities …no chance don’t exist anymore…

[@jamesbarbour8400]

​@@lucyjones5789that's not really the ussue - if you can't afford to have childten, don't have them and expect everyone else to pick up the tab for them through their taxes. Nothing complicated about it.

[@LuciThomasHardylover-qx6ts]

My local council is opening children's homes at an alarming rate because they take so many children in to care that many are now being housed in air BnB because there just simply aren't enough foster places to keep up with demand. It's absolutely insane.

[@loumorningstar7709]

That's more than a little suspicious if it is true. Why are so many children being taken by force or offering themselves?

[@l.k1992]

I actually saw something online where a lady was showing an article from the guardian about how hammersmith and fulham council based in London were receiving extra government funding for each child put up for adoption or care. Something is definitely going on

[@MissCristina]

something I never understood is, why sending money to ukraine is more important that funding projects like this that are crucial for the future for the nation?

[@PSYCHIC_PSYCHO]

Not just Ukraine but also Israel

[@allykhan8594]

How many of Kents workers are working from Abroad and being paid as if they are local workers?

[@stephenholmes1036]

Correct

[@TheCasualObservers]

1) none. 2) even if they were, it's cheaper for the council to use remote workers if it leads to lower spend on footfall.

[@hiramabiff2017]

Always amazed me how local residents would be so fixated towards central government they hardly knew the name of their local councillor/MP let alone the amount of depth in waste of public money & corruption that goes on. Some council chiefs paying themselves 3 times what a PM earns gives you a taste of what your find when you dig.

[@allykhan8594]

Exactly!

[@raquetdude]

Even stranger when councils have had budgets cut by 80% over a decade. The national government has forced Councils to find risky methods of raising funds and some have failed… the government plan has failed

[@hiramabiff2017]

Sadly your rabid fixation on wanting to blame a Tory government might work on those whose narrative suits yours and makes you think your being factual, but unlucky for you some of us understand the real inner workings of local government. And as someone who never votes , wild horses could not drag me to a ballot box to vote for these people. @@raquetdude

[@nothereandthereanywhere]

@@hiramabiff2017 You both are incorrect. The cut was around 30-40% adjusted to inflation I believe.

[@user-qo8ci2ye6v]

You are right. People seem to think that the government runs everything. There is such a thing as local democracy but people vote for a party rather than local independant people who aim to put things right. There really should be no party politics in local councils

[@piggypiggypig1746]

The burden always falls on the squeezed middle. Todays middle class, tomorrows homeless.

[@Anonnomous1818]

We need a over haul of the whole government. All the mps stealing money and helping friends and family get rich, giving out tax breaks to companies for illegal payouts, while the poor people get taxed more and more.

[@sugarsweethoney3078]

Aren't MPs get elected by the people. If those MPs are corrupt, why do people keep electing them?

[@TG-ts3xn]

It’s about dismantling the middle class.

[@melissaclark5280]

I am not disputing the need for better funding, but having direct experience of councils they are so poorly run, you can see the wastage.

[@redskyatnight123]

I used to be in the army, there's also massive wastage there.

[@redpillrevelation5978]

This country is f@#ked 😢

[@TG-ts3xn]

Been saying that since 1997

[@themagpie_1]

Now imagine a world where the money supply was supplied differently. councils wouldn`t of had to privatise everything, meaning all public profits go straight to corporations, usually foreign ones. i remember when we never paid water rates..what the tv wont tell you is that the interest payments ALONE on the national DEBT (not deficit) is more than the entire GDP of the UK. it`ll never be paid off, yet they`ve sold off every asset while borrowing more n more every yr. sounds like its almost deliberate..

[@MrGrantSloan]

How is your "celebrity" corporate manslaughterer, Matt Hancock doing. Or is it back to ITV for him?

[@nothereandthereanywhere]

00:30 - I think I know why Raab said he is against basic human rights. So they could cut more support from the central government. Who votes those Tories?

[@hanselmansell7555]

Amazon uses the roads, we pay for the roads, we pay Amazon, Amazon gets free roads. This is the Tory way.

[@peteradams408]

Start at the top, and get rid of these lazy over paid so called council workers.

[@60yoself-taught]

Huge amounts of money have been wasted in front of our eyes. It's either due to the councils' incompetences or corruptions. The local council cabinets need to be sacked and investigated. New cabinet should be formed by job application/interview rather than by vote.

[@mickhills6288]

What waste? Go on tells us where it's been wasted? Tory propaganda..The Tories have cut councils to the bone.

[@keithmarshall7084]

All planned but you ain't seen nothing yet

[@dazmurph]

What you think going to happen

[@matthewprince9705]

Total takeover of towns and boroughs by consortiums of venture capitalists and private finance who will reshape them as they see fit.

[@beendoneagain]

Keep voting for more off the same!

[@joe9042]

Our govt's immigration lunacy, has brought us to our knees.

[@MartinParsons-tr6wi]

It certainly hasn't helped

[@sillypuppy5940]

It's a sticking plaster (and not a very good one) to help manage the results of previous mistakes.

[@PMMagro]

You did not want EUworkers, now you have Indian and African ones instead. The root problems have not yet been even touched.

[@richardstone5813]

How much uncollected council tax, and council rent, did they write off last year; and the year and years before that? Far easier to write it off than try to collect it and it makes for PR that portrays the council as good guys. This is why councils fail.. just read their accounts.

[@TG-ts3xn]

My local council built 2500 homes in the last 3 years (including private) Only 500 of those pay council tax!

[@dean9235]

More importantly, how much syphoning off by central government before it even gets paid to the council?

[@jazzylyn5857]

In our quite recent history, there was no such thing as council tax, or poll tax. What we had, was Rates. Homes had a rateable value. My rates were £47 a YEAR. A semi-detached was around £60 a year. A detached, around £75 per year. (Depending on areas, but it was a small amount, wherever). All local council services were run from those funds, and yes, bin collections every week! Suddenly, a 2-adult household was required to pay £1,000 poll tax per year. So from £47 a year, to £1,000. Obviously, that was not the government's end goal, so enter the fake poll tax protests, although of course some real people joined in, as people were angry. The government "gave in." Okay, you win. We'll get rid of poll tax. Yay, said the country and the protestors. We won. Power to the People! Lolz. Enter, immediately after, Community Charge, now Council Tax, which rolled in at around £1,100 per household. So from £47, to £1,100 for the lowest band. (Today, about £1,500 lowest band). So, the local council funding increased by approx 22 times, i.e. £47 x 22 is just over £1,000. Yet the services have become absolutely appalling. What happened to all that money? Where is it being spent? Why no protests. Why did no one ever question it. How did they run services, managed to run council housing etc, quite nicely on £47 a year. But with £1,100 + a year, they are a mess, and outsource everything. Council housing now outsourced to housing associations, many social services outsourced to NGOs, bin collections outsourced to private companies. What is the point of having a local council when they aren't providing the services? It puzzles me why no one questions where all that extra money went/is going.

[@CandyKoRn]

Privatisation and greed, that's where the money goes.

[@jazzylyn5857]

@@CandyKoRn And paying for their gold-plated pensions. It infuriates me that a portion of my council tax goes towards these fat cat pensions. Whilst I personally cannot afford a pension.

[@bums009]

Britain needs a revolution. Take a note from the French for the love of christ.

[@calidac7459]

I think I saw somewhere a while ago, that the government stopped giving the councils so much money and therefore the council has to pay for everything including elderly social care, putting homeless people in temporary accommodation, etc........ years of government not putting money into housing has resulted in us the general public....paying a ridiculous council tax bill to cover this....

[@gojo2194]

Bet their pockets are still nicely lined.

[@jasonpetrise]

Deport them

[@Glower22x4]

Costs of electricity and gas going up next year because of the war in Gaza 😢

[@satnamboll]

The problem is the councils are taking more money for their private pensions, and basically laundering the money into private businesses that they control. Property is one major one. The salaries are too high for these people, and they do not care whether you can afford it or not. Ask your council how much as a percentage of the council tax is going into council private pensions. The answer might surprise you.

[@raquetdude]

Councils have had 80% cut over 10 years. Either ur tax goes up or Councils go bust or national government stops austerity.

[@jasonnicholas3722]

The council is a sore subject for me. I have a disability and live in a council bungalow. This place has the same insulation properties as the flight deck on an aircraft carrier. I told the council the bungalow is cold and draughty. What did the council do to rectify the situation? They cut an 8inch hole in the wall and stuck a 6inch plastic pipe through the hole, 2 quarter inch pieces of loft insulation set at apposing angles set at the height I sleep. Obviously it made the situation worse. It was like going to bed with your head out the window. It's so bad I got hypothermia last December and that's with the heating system working overtime. It took 2 rolls of gaffer tape to insulate the place. The Council sent someone round to inspect the place, but as I was telling him about the draughts he said "There's always something". Like I was asking for a miracle, but I suppose, when it comes to councils spending money on things that benefits communities, this council just loves spending money wisely like the £10,000 they spent on a really terrible looking metal sign.

[@honeybunch6473]

Unacceptable DEI before housing!

[@splottcardiff3993]

Councils in Wales are in desperate need of funding, especially in housing!! Street homelessness in the City is heartbreaking 💔

[@ZX7ROB]

We need more oversight of council spending. Most of their contracts have been done with backhanded favours attached, they don’t see it as anybodies money, and they’re often ideologically driven.

[@josefserf1926]

Nevermind the youth clubs, take a closer look at how the special needs are being treated. Drugged and slowly murdered. No hint of behavioural therapy on offer.

[@mandysmith7619]

Most of south Bristol's government funding goes towards the mayor's private holidays and buisness that go bankrupt 😡

[@sirusvirus9650]

Stop Foreign Aid, Wars and Look after the UK citizens first.

[@healthiswealth6797]

Good luck its how they legally money launder

[@monipenny408]

LOL I think you are a bit out of touch my dear. UK is not a real country it is a here to serve corporations just like in the U$, hence things are becoming very similar to U$, just wait NHS will be privatized.

[@sirusvirus9650]

Politicians are professional liars and cheats that serve themselves and corporate interests and provide the bill to the public :-(

[@nothereandthereanywhere]

I believe the Tories actually cut a lot of foreigner aid in the last decade. Yes, UK is supporting Ukraine, but that is not gonna be long lasting - better to help Ukraine, than having another war in Europe.

[@monipenny408]

did you learn that from the BBC? I don't know if you realize, UK is supporting a nutzi regime, the most corrupt in europe? UK is technically a nutzi collaborator.@@nothereandthereanywhere

[@pascaledowling6309]

I would like to ask this Tory councillor how he likes austerity?

[@TG-ts3xn]

Austerity?! Means living within your means. Croydon Labour council don’t understand

[@PMMagro]

It is not him personally. Surley hw wil get hsi pay rise as usual :)

[@capitalcrud9062]

Issues with councils 1. Low Government funding 2. Mismanagement from the top to the bottom 3. Nepotism 4. Priorities all wrong 5. Leadership salaries Same story everywhere!!! This country is rotting!

[@gent3284]

it's also about corruption at a local level. The whole country is a beast of corruption

[@hanselmansell7555]

When all the caretakers were removed from sheltered housing the community rooms stopped being used and even more of our old folk started dying alone. This is the way of the Tories 😥

[@user-qo8ci2ye6v]

The Tories do not run every council. Which councils have closed the community rooms? If you are not happy with the way your council is run then vote the councillors out.

[@Zen-rd9np]

They have been allocating the budgets and guess who’s councils get the least? Labour Try again troll

[@davidtams1218]

When anyone blames 'The Tories' I always refer them to The Mid Staffs Crisis. Look at what happened and who was in government.

[@hanselmansell7555]

@@user-qo8ci2ye6v of course I do, but you don't seem to realise that the budgets councils have is set by central government, ie the Tories for the past 13 years.

[@hanselmansell7555]

@@davidtams1218 what? One hospital 14 years ago out of 1148 hospitals in the uk in total? You got to do better than that mate and while your at it, have you called an ambulance lately? And if so how long did it take to come? 🤔

[@joeasthope2064]

Maybe one way to save money would be that the councillors allowances for their time ie lunch meeting travel costs IT expenses ect One way of putting a little more in the kitty

[@wellhungindung]

Fix the roads and collect the bins, there is literally no money, there is less than no money.

[@biggodfrey7797]

Waiting for senior managers and CEOs to take a voluntary pay cut.

[@ajs41]

Whatever happened to living within your means?

[@TG-ts3xn]

Immigration

[@leafykille]

The root cause is clearly a crazy disconnect between work done and income. Money needs to be a representation of work done. Those that make money simply by having money need to be held accountable. Rent, investment, and other forms of passive income must stop. Real work should be the only way to make money, only then will this division between rich and poor start to shrink.

[@mrmikeina69]

So communism is your suggestion

[@MartinParsons-tr6wi]

​@@mrmikeina69That's not communism

[@PSYCHIC_PSYCHO]

@@mrmikeina69Socialism you Dunce.

[@SDBOGLE]

Councils have become private cooperations unleashed on the society.

[@FayFairley-hi3zu]

Councils have no money because they never get any of the council tax that all goes to central government.

[@Bungle-UK]

The government is spending more money than ever before….it’s not our fault they are so bad at it.

[@Malfoy1594]

Keep sending money to fund wars!

[@itsamyxoxx]

MONEY IS NOT JUST FOR WAR.

[@SDBOGLE]

Not a single area we haven’t touched except their salaries.

[@allykhan8594]

Taxed Raised £750 Billion,government spending is almost £1.1 Trillion. So what you want to do?

[@coppershark1973]

Tax the rich? Stop flushing taxpayers money down the drain in helicopters? Claw back money from Mkne and other pandemic profiteers? Close tax loopholes? Just a few suggestions.

[@allykhan8594]

@@coppershark1973 if you add the wealth of All the billionaires in u.k it comes £650 Billion, even if you took by force All of that, it would not stop this country going down the drain in ever more speeding rate.

[@nothereandthereanywhere]

How did the central government manage to support the local councils in the past(prior all the cuts), but isn't able to manage it now?

[@allykhan8594]

They spent less money, so they managed.​@@nothereandthereanywhere

[@sabersz]

@@allykhan8594 where'd you get that figure? I guarantee you that is measured through billionaires in the UK on paper. There are many more, their wealth is just classified as being somewhere else.