Executive recommend closing Livesey Children's Museum

Tuesday night saw the Council's LibDem-Tory Executive Committee meet to agree their budget recommendations. Their coalition has an overall majority on the council and so their recommendations are likely to be agreed at Full Council Assembly next week when the budget is finalised.

A huge number of concerned residents and children came down to the Town Hall to protest against the proposals. It was fantastic to see the kids really getting into it chanting "Let the Livesey Live" - political engagement at such a young age.

Sadly the Executive weren't moved by this and still want to go forward with proposals to close the museum and save £140,000 a year. They claim they just can't afford to keep the museum going, but they were able to find an extra £2.5m to emply yet more management consultants to look at "modernising" the council (that's on top of the £11.4m spent on consultants this year). They are also proposing to increase council tax by 4%.

There are more details on Cllr Peter John's website about Labour's alternative proposals - I'll be voting for a budget which doesn't cut the Livesey Museum, doesn't hike up meals on wheels charges, doesn't make massive cuts in the community safety budget and increases council tax only by inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (ie around 2% - in line with public sector pay increases). To do this we'll be proposing cuts in the wasteful use of consultants, agency staff, publicity and promotions.

I know it's a tough financial year for Southwark, and most local authorities. We'd certainly like to get a lot more than a 2% increase in our grant from government and we're helping the council to lobby Ministers. But even so I still believe the council could produce a balanced budget that didn't involve drastic service cuts like closing the Museum. At the very least they could keep it open this year and give people the chance to investigate other sources of funding for the Museum.

On a slightly lighter note I was most entertained by Executive Member for Finance, and self-confessed ultra Thatcherite Tory Cllr Toby Eckersley, speculating that things would be better for Southwark Council under a "more favourable" (presumably he means Tory) government. I certainly don't recall his "dear lady" showing much generousity towards local government or any other sort of public services.