Talking Politics column with Coun Adam Wilkinson: Residents deserve answers on the Council’s real priorities

The Council’s latest accounts show an overspend of around three per cent of its overall budget. That is a serious challenge, but it is also similar to the position facing councils across the country that provide adult and children’s social care. In fact, the Council’s own Reform Cabinet Member for Resources has acknowledged that Calderdale faces the same financial pressures as local authorities nationwide. Some councils have even had to issue section 114 notices – the local government equivalent of bankruptcy – or have had to apply to the government for Exceptional Financial Support. Not Calderdale.

The real issue is not whether the Council faces financial challenges. It does. The question is, what the administration is doing about them. Since taking office, Reform has spent more time talking about symbolic issues than setting out a clear plan for the services that account for the bulk of the budget and matter most to vulnerable people. We have heard debates about flags and even the sandwiches served at council events, but very little about how it will tackle the growing pressures on social care. More than 70 per cent of Calderdale Council’s budget is spent on adult and children’s services. These are not vanity projects. They are essential services that support older people, disabled residents, children in care and families facing the greatest challenges. It is these services that account for most of the Council’s financial pressures. The biggest overspend is in adult social care, where demand has risen year after year while government funding has failed to keep pace. That is a national problem, not one created in Calderdale. At the same time, the administration has already made decisions that will add to the pressure on the Council’s finances. Extending household waste recycling centre opening hours, bringing forward road repairs and the stop of the sale of The Shay may all be popular with some residents, but none of them come cost free. It is reasonable to ask how these commitments will be paid for while claiming the Council’s finances are in such poor shape. Holding Reform to account is the role of the opposition. Residents deserve openness and honest answers. Instead, this administration has abolished scrutiny boards that existed to challenge decision-makers, while too often responding to legitimate questions at Full Council with personal attacks instead of clear answers. When more than 70 per cent of the Council’s budget is spent protecting the most vulnerable people in Calderdale, residents deserve to know the administration’s plan. If it believes it can bring social care spending under control while protecting vital services, it should explain how. Political slogans will not balance the books. Calderdale needs honesty, transparency and a serious conversation about the difficult choices ahead. Above all, we must put people before politics.