GREEN Party leader Cllr Rob White has expressed disappointment at “hollowing out” of public services amid budget pressures.
It comes as two separate reports have outlined the financial challenges as more people in Reading turn to the council for support, ahead of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this month.
The settlement lays out how much funding councils will receive from government, with RBC set to finalise their own budget in February.
It predicts £1.2 million needed to tackle homelessness pressures, £5.7 million in additional children’s social care pressures, £1.4 million in pressures in adult social care,
The council has explained that rising demand for services is having an impact on council budgets “everywhere.”
However Cllr Rob White, leader of the Green Party in Reading, said: “It is disappointing that after 14 years of Conservative austerity, a hollowing out of public services and some services being stopped altogether we are looking at more of the same under a Labour government.
“Demand for council services is only going up and the reality is that funding is not keeping up with what is needed.
“Green councillors will keep working for warmer homes to support people through the cold winter months, to tackle Reading’s housing crisis and cut the town’s pollution which is impacting on us all.”
Following the meeting of Policy Committee next week, a public consultation on the budget is set to launch on December 19.
