SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL'S EXPENDITURE CAP 1994/95

Motion Text

That this House notes the decision of the Secretary of State for the Environment to lay a draft order recommending an increase in the capped spending level for Sheffield City Council of ú3 million; believes that this increase, whilst ú2 million less than the appropriate level proposed by the city council does, at least, represent an acknowledgement by the Secretary of State that Sheffield's original cap was set too low and would have caused further unacceptable cuts in basic services on top of the ú27 million of reductions already agreed for 1994-95 and the ú108 million of reductions made in the previous three years with nearly 5,000 jobs lost since 1990; further believes that this increase in the cap level is justified in that it partially rectifies the unacceptable position whereby the Secretary of State had marginally improved the council's standard spending assessment for 1994-95 but then not allowed it to spend the increased grant resulting; congratulates the Labour group on Sheffield City Council for its successful and well-presented redetermination case arguing for a fair deal for Sheffield; condemns, unreservedly, the Liberal Democrats on the council who, for narrow party-political reasons, refused to back the redetermination bid and thereby 'sold their city short'; and affirms its determination to argue the case for a fairer standard spending assessment system for grant distribution and for an end to capping which is the worst manifestation of unacceptable central control and an affront to local democratic accountability.