New figures have shown that ONLY ONE THIRD of council cuts in Sheffield are due to reductions in Government funding.

The details outlined in the Council’s 2014/15 budget show that of the £58.4 million budget gap calculated by the Council, just 36% is due to less Government funding.

The remaining £37.5 million has be attributed to pressures estimated by the Council and commitments made by the current Labour administration.

The biggest factor in the £37.5m self-inflicted gap is the more than £20 million pressures in adult social care, as result of Council mismanagement. The last year has seen members of staff suspended as budgets were allowed to spiral out of control. [1]

Yet, the Labour Council want to sell off Cobnar Cottage which lies on land within Graves Park and is owned by the Graves Park charity, claiming it would cost too much to refurbish.

Other factors in the pressures include promised perks for Council staff, contributions to the Council’s pensions pot, and £1.5 million for “contingency”.

Budget proposals were agreed by the Council’s Cabinet after facing a crucial vote at the Budget Council meeting on the 7th March, when Labour councillors voted against Lib Dem proposals to fund the refurbishment of Cobnar Cottage.

Cllr Andrew Sangar, Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Finance, said:

It’s clear that Labour bosses simply cannot be trusted to look after the city’s finances. If they had a better control of council budgets – not to mention the £31 million in uncollected council tax – we know that they could protect more services, like saving threatened local libraries.

“Labour’s Town Hall bosses have attempted to place all the blame for their decisions on the Government but these figures show that they are not being honest with local people.

“Labour need to stop playing the blame game and take responsibility for the decisions they’re taking.”

· [1] http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/health/local-health/sheffield-council-boss-suspended-over-finances-1-5893937

· See below budget figures from Sheffield City Council’s 2014/15 Revenue Budget: