Press Releases for 2004

KENT'S LOCAL AUTHORITIES GET MORE CONTROL OVER SPENDING

7th October 2004

The Government is giving Kent County Council and other local authorities in Kent more control over their spending(1). The new areas of autonomy are in three key sectors: children and young people; safer and stronger communities; health and older people. The local authorities and their partners will develop targets and intended outcomes and will be free to decide how these are to be achieved. Steve Dawe comments:

"Greater power to decide how our money is spent is a welcome step for Kent, a county which is under exceptional pressure because of migration from London. But this Government initiative has no new money attached. The general problem is that the Government gives quangos four times as much money in the UK as the whole of local government. The Green Party believes that these resources should be under local democratic control. "The three sectors chosen cover wide areas of policy but the Green Party believes the key need is for local councils to be able to build council housing to meet local demand. House prices throughout Kent require more than average incomes to obtain the necessary mortgage for purchasing a home. Public services throughout Kent are under severe strain since Government spending is not keeping up with population movement. The key growth area of Ashford is still seriously short of doctors and dentists and its public transport services, such as rail services to villages, are being cut. We note that the South East England Regional Assembly has united in calling for more investment for the Integrated Kent Franchise. The Assembly believes that current under-investment threatens development in Ashford and in the Thames Gateway." ENDS c279 words

FURTHER INFORMATION: Steve Dawe on 01233 645167 or 07747 036192. Contact address as above. Notes: 1. A pilot scheme for 21 areas of the country, details at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2004_0234

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