The leader of Reading council has responded after the Labour administration was called out for slashing £230,000 from its budget to tackle inequality.
Labour has been attacked for reducing the budget to tackle inequality in South Reading from £340,000 to £110,000, a cut of £230,000.
The reduction in this funding was exposed by the Green Party, who lead the opposition at Reading Borough Council, at a full council meeting.
Councillor Dave McElroy (Green, Redlands) said: “While staff funding remains intact, money for running projects to tackle inequality is being slashed.
“The detail of these cuts is hidden in budget papers only available to
councillors.
“Previously, these funds supported community activities covering sports, education, skills development, culture, career advice, and the community ambassadors’ network.
“Does the leader of the council support this cut? And have we simply gone from Conservative austerity to Labour austerity?”
These questions were answered by Liz Terry (Labour, Coley), the council leader, who argued that officer support can better help residents than one-off projects.
Cllr Terry said: “Labour councillors are committed to tackling inequality within the Borough and delivering fairer communities for our residents
“Our ‘Place based’ policy has delivered improvements for our residents within the pilot areas in South Reading.
“A product of success for the place-based approach is that local communities, have not become dependent on one-off or time limited projects to deliver the sustainable changes they need.
“It should teach us that tackling inequality requires ongoing systemic change to how services are delivered, not just in isolation, but across the entire council and how it works with its partners.
“That is why the council is retaining the officer support to maintain ongoing improvements by finding new opportunities to empower local residents and make our day-to-day services as effective as possible for all residents.
“This includes identifying any external funding opportunities to enhance the services and facilities available.
“The council has once again supported a wide range of local projects via
its Small Grants Fund allocations including groups in South Reading.
Reading Borough remains a place where local communities will always be supported by both our efforts and our innovation, and our decisions on our use of resources will always support and protect all of our residents and their quality of lives.”
Examples of beneficiaries of small grants funding include £4,900 to Becoming Mums, which supports families in South Reading, and £3,330 to the South Reading over-50’s Social Club, which provides social opportunities for vulnerable older people in Whitley Wood and the surrounding area.
The exchange took place at the full council meeting on Tuesday, February 25.
