Conservative run Kent County Council have joined forces with Hampshire Council to write to the Chancellor to warn of impending financial doom.
Both council leaders are calling for urgent financial help from the government to avert a “disaster”. Kent are facing a projected £50.6 million black hole in the County Council’s (KCC) budget, whilst Hampshire are facing a £200 million shortfall over the next four years. This had led to fears of tax rises and frontline service cuts.
In a joint letter to the prime minister, chancellor and home secretary, the councils outlined the “drastic budget implications” they are facing.
KCC leader Roger Gough said additional funds raised through a rise in council tax and business rates “barely” covers the costs of inflation.
He said “This leaves major growth, particularly in adults’ and children’s social care, totally un-funded. This is not a medium-term problem that can be fixed with more one-off handouts to keep the sector limping along, it needs fundamental changes to the whole system of local government funding”.
We cannot sit by and let two great counties sleep-walk into a financial disaster
A spokesman for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “We understand that councils are concerned about the impact of inflation and we are working with them to understand how this will affect their budgets.
Kent’s budget has also been hit by the ongoing migrant crisis. Kent complained last year that their care system was overflowing and they could not cope. It now appears that British Border Force vessels have been colluding with the French Navy to provide ‘safe handovers’ for migrants heading to the UK.
The conversation between the vessels suggests the French Navy is routinely guiding migrant boats from the French coast to mid-Channel meet-ups with the British, who then put the passengers on board boats to bring them into Dover.
KCC have also been accused of ‘squandering’ cash to support other causes. Last October, Kent County Council (KCC) said it was increasing payments to families hosting Ukrainians. KCC said it wanted “to recognise the increased cost of living” and “to encourage more hosts to come forward”.
Host families will receive a total of £400 a month for one person, and an additional £100 for every person above that, up to a limit of £1,000. The extra payments will began in November with the first payment backdated to October, and will continue until March.
Whilst the council is facing impending disaster, it is still finding unmentionable sums of money to support people from overseas. Whilst the cause may be worthy, it should not lead our council into a bankruptcy that will affect every single person living in the county.
