BNP Budget – Barking and Dagenham Council 2008/9
Remember when the pundits and politicians alike said it was a disaster in the making when the BNP became the official opposition to the Labour controlled Barking and Dagenham Council?
They were all wrong, weren’t they! For all those new BNP councillors have turned out to be anything ,but a disaster.
Yet things could have been even better. For if the BNP had been in actual control of this council, it’s council-tax payers could be looking forward, not to an increase in their tax demands, but to no increase at all, and quite likely a very real decrease!
And, you may ask, how is this possible?
It’s possible because the BNP has identified up to £10.2 million pounds of savings that could be made within the Barking & Dagenham council budget – and all without harming any of the essential services we all expect a local council to provide, whatever its political colour!
There’s no doubt about it, the BNP really does make a difference!
British National Party Budget
Barking and Dagenham Council 2008/9
Compiled and Presented by
Richard Barnbrook
Leader of the British National Party Barking and Dagenham
Barking and Dagenham Council Budget 2008/9
Foreword
The British National Party is presenting its budget for 2008/9 which includes prospective savings of 10.2 million pounds which will enable a no increase council tax which will benefit both residents and businesses within the Borough. The fundamentals of this budget provide for improved delivery over a range of services by performing functions on an in- house basis using council staff rather than providing profits for agencies and contractors.
Unlike the Labour Council budget there will be no cuts to essential services such as Public Conveniences indeed we will reverse the trend of running down essential services and the public sector. A major part of the savings will come from dismantling the phoney public sector which has been created to serve political correctness.
In this respect we will not be cutting expenditure we will be slashing it.…
Adult and Community Services Revenue Budget (pages 47-66)
Older Persons Services
The BNP anticipate savings of 2 million pounds by operating older person’s services in-house instead of on an agency basis. The BNP believe it is possible to deliver a higher standard of service of meals on wheels from the Council from existing Council catering facilities. That in-house carers for the elderly operate in a more efficient and effective manner. Overall benefits will accrue from regular council employees rather than to agency operatives who may come and go.
Learning Disabilities
Similarly, services covering learning disabilities would be operated more efficiently and effectively by an in-house service than by an agency where quality control must be more difficult to administer and monitor.
Safety and Parks Police
Safety and Parks Police is a service which can be run and delivered by Council staff.
Drugs and Alcohol Services
The BNP is so concerned with the interests of local people we would increase the budget to this service by £200,000 pounds to take a direct action approach to the social problems of alcohol and substance abuse/misuse. At the same time savings of £ 100,000 pounds could be made by eliminating agency expenditure.
Community and Development
The BNP would do away with agency grants. The BNP is committed to supporting local voluntary organisations and groups provided that they comply with terms and conditions to any grants which ensure local taxpayers see a real return for their investment. As an example: where sporting or arts organisations are in receipt of council grants they must be able to prove an adequate level of fundraising themselves and evidence that their product is accessible to all members of the community. This may mean for some of them that they have to arrange visits by elderly residents of the Borough to there facilities thus proving they are part of the community. We believe by taking a more responsible approach to community development, savings of £200,000 pounds may be anticipated and the voluntary sector will be driven to be more effective.
Equalities and Diversities
The BNP anticipate savings of £100,000 in the staffing budget
Children’s Services (pages 67-87)
We will strive to reduce the volume of agency providers and we will reduce the sums available for service provision and make savings of £5.3 million pounds. We will maximise local provision of services by introducing capped and budget driven services and we will review the possibility of off-shoring where there is a consensus that it would benefit the ethnic integrity of the client.
Customer Services (pages 88-114)
We will bring the refuse collection in house giving a net saving of £200,000 pounds.
Frizlands Depot and Passenger Transport
The BNP will merge these two entities because the BNP is committed to the concept of renewable fuel sources and environmentally friendly transport. The BNP will invest £300,000 in eco-friendly vehicles ranging from hybrids to electric mini buses.
Environmental Health and Trading Standards
The BNP is committed to protecting and improving the health of the Borough residents and also waging war on the exploitive practices of people traffickers, gang masters, and abusers of animal welfare. The BNP propose to spend an additional £400,000 pounds on increased staffing of environmental health and trading standards. Officers will focus on the areas of hygiene in particular in areas of TB and halal food, bush meat and counterfeit goods.
Revenue and Benefits
The collection of revenues and the payment of benefits is one of the most important functions of the authority. The BNP note the way the business community has negligible arrears and whilst the vast majority of council taxpayers realise their obligations the small minority that don’t will be severely targeted. The BNP will intensify the level of targeting in the residential area and anticipate this will bring savings of £1.5 millions pounds a 1 percent improvement.
Regeneration (pages 115-117)
Public Conveniences
The BNP is committed to maintaining this most fundamental of government services. Therefore, unlike Labour we will not close all public conveniences. The BNP will spend an additional £150,000 pounds on a high profile staffing, cleaning and a security presence. We will eliminate the £3000 agency costs.
On/Off Street Parking
On/off street parking is not a significant revenue generator for the council nor should it be. However the over exuberant enforcement in certain areas of the Borough is seen as a deterrent to the success of local shops and small businesses. It is the BNPs opinion that an adequate service can be provided by more selective control with fewer traffic wardens. Therefore, we propose savings of £403,000 pounds can be made.
Highways Maintenance
The BNP can see no advantage to the taxpayers of the Borough in making profits for private companies. We propose to bring the service in house and anticipate net savings of £500,000 pounds.
Adult Basics Skills Initiative
An element of this relates to paying for learning for asylum seekers. The BNP don’t see why the council and taxpayers should fund this so the BNP proposes cuts of £50,000 pounds.
Parks and Open Spaces
The BNP believes that parks and open spaces are better managed and safer places when run in the traditional way with full time council employees’ on site. We believe this can replace the existing agency arrangements provide a better and safer service and save the taxpayer £200,000 pounds.
Cemeteries
The BNP wishes to encourage the honouring of our ancesters and in order to make cemetery visits easier we will spend £44,000 as a first step to provide shelters and toilets facilities at cemeteries.
Allotments
The BNP wishes to encourage the production of home-grown food and will provide £20,000 for the provision of storage facilities as step towards mini farmer/barter markets.
Sports Centres
The BNP the chief officers have been unable to give us a precise costing for that element of expenditure known as celebrating diversity. We are not interested in celebrating diversity, just Britishness and in the absences of figures from the officers we anticipate that £5000.000 of political correctness can be slashed and the burden on residents and businesses removed.
Sports Development
The BNP believes that competitive sport is part and parcel of the healthy development of individuals and groups. To this end we make available £100,000 for professional sport coaching from the boroughs leisure centre.
Arboriculture and Nurseries
We will eliminate £50,000 pound of agency expenditure and spend an equivalent sum on extra training, staffing and transport.
Resources (pages 178-196)
Human Resources, a service which was traditionally known as the personnel department, have a budget in the region of £6.5 million pounds. In the BNPs opinion a bogus industry has been created around community priorities, promoting equality opportunities and celebrating diversity BNP believe the roll of the personnel department is simply to ensure the adequate professional staffing of council departments to achieve the necessities of local government. We propose therefore that £3 millions pounds of the £6.5 million be given the chop and the bulk of this will come from employee expenses
Democracy and Partnerships (page 185)
The BNP does not believe it is necessary to spend £5 million pounds of taxpayer’s money to assist members and staff to deliver socialist priorities. Again an industry has been created around so called community engagement and marketing. The BNP believes that a budget for electoral and registration services should cost £2 million pounds less than this. We do not believe the head of service should be the council whistle blowing officer, the BNP takes the view that the finance professionals of the internal audit section are in the best position to do this.
Strategic Finance and Audit (page 190)
The BNP believe that the strategic finance and audit play a key roll in ensuring the proper probity of the council. And it merits are undervalued and the department is understaffed to realise its potential. To this end we will make available £200,000 to strengthen the internal audit function to ensure by a system based approach that the council complies with all statutory duties, the security of its operating systems, and its achievement of value for money and to perform a whistle blowing function.
Capital Programme (pages 197-219)
The BNP believes there is one issue within the Capital Programme that in its importance outweighs all other issues. The BNP is totally opposed to the residential development of the Thames Gateway. The BNP believes that as this land is on the flood plain that it would be in the interests of public safety, the environment, and to allow for unknown factors in the future, that it should be left undeveloped. We do not believe this will be detrimental to the provision of housing in Barking and Dagenham and in London in general. Within the context of the BNPs demographic and law and order strategy, by not developing this land there will be a significant financial saving to the boroughs taxpayers by the elimination of the resulting revenue costs of capital development.
Revenue Development of Housing Portfolio
To indicate the BNPs commitment to ensuring that council housing moves towards meeting the needs of the local population it is proposed to make an initial contribution of £2 million pounds sourced from Revenue as the start of a policy of replenishing the council housing stock from its original base as opportunity permits.
LBBD Council Tax Budget 2008 2009 working version(1).xls
