Shambolic #Calderdale Budget meeting sees ConDems slash funds for deprived neighbourhoods

In a meeting that the Mayor described as “shambolic”, and that led a Councillor to say that it was no wonder that only 23 percent of the electorate bothered to take part in Council elections, Calderdale Council voted by 26 to 23 in favour of a Conservative/Liberal Democrat Amendment to Revised Cabinet Budget Proposals for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17.

The ConDem amendment’s main effect is to shift funding away from the most deprived neighbourhoods in Calderdale. It cuts £500K from Neighbourhood Working in North & West Central Halifax, and spreads some of the savings thinly across the whole Borough, with £5k/year to be spent by each of the 17 Ward Forums, as it sees fit. Which costs £255K over 3 years, if my arithmetic is right. A net saving of £245K.
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