Calling out the Labour Administration for cuts and tax increases due to being at the brink of bankruptcy. Enfield Labour Council Budget Meeting 2024.
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Labour Council has surged spending on lavish furniture.
• Driven by the Labour Councils multi-million £ makeover ‘Build to Change’ project. Conservatives have called for a halt on spending and reinvest into frontline services.
• £250,000 was spent on furniture at the Housing Hub in a £3.78 million pound refurbishment – the building will be demolished in the Edmonton Green redevelopment.
• Council cannot provide breakdown of individual furniture item spend on the Housing Hub works.
• £415,000 Civic Centre spend includes £1,100 chairs, £2,200 sofas and £15,000 boardroom table.
Shadow Finance Councillor James Hockney said: “When the Labour Council keeps saying it has no money – but spends money like this, it is quite incredible. This money could and 
should have been invested into frontline services.
Such spending on lavish furniture on the taxpayer’s money would be an insult and wrong at any time; let alone during cost of living when many residents would want to be able to buy new furniture – but are not in a position to.”
Conservatives say; halt this spending and invest in the residents priorities
Cllr James Hockney, Finance Shadow Cabinet Member, has welcomed the announcement that Enfield Borough Council will receive a further £3.3m from the Government to help pay for its response to coronavirus, as part of a £500 million package of additional support.
The extra £500 million – which brings support for pressures they are facing to £4.3 billion – will ensure councils in England can continue to deliver crucial frontline services, support those most in need and continue delivering for residents.
In total, since the pandemic began, Enfield Borough Council will have now received an additional £21,276,285. This additional support forms part of a comprehensive package of Government support to help councils respond to the pandemic, including an unprecedented new scheme to help councils recover lost income, including from car parks and museums, which have been shut during the lockdown.
In addition, the Government has announced a co-payment scheme that will compensate councils for irrecoverable income losses from sales, fees and charges. And to enable them to get on the front foot and build much-needed breathing space into their budgets, the Government is also allowing them to spread their tax deficits over three years rather than the usual one. This will allow authorities to pay deficits off in a reasonable timescale and will limit their cashflow pressures.
The staff at Enfield Borough Council have played an incredible and heroic role in coordinating the local response to Coronavirus. I am certain that everyone in the Enfield Borough community will join me in thanking them. In what has been done in the most extraordinary of circumstances.
The Conservative government was clear at the beginning of this crisis that they would stand behind our councils. They have stepped forward with significant funding; protecting local services and ensuring councils come through this difficult period with stable finances. The latest additional £3.3m shows that they’ve continued to listen to local concerns and will protect local services in Enfield North, Enfield Southgate and Edmonton on which we all rely.
