'Your excuses won't wash' (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

'Your excuses won't wash'

COST-cutting councillors have been attacked for "hiding" behind the excuse of receiving unfair grants from Whitehall despite the town's cashpot soaring by more than 82 per cent since Labour came to power.

North Swindon MP Michael Wills has criticised the Tory authority after new government figures revealed the scale of the increases in annual grants handed to Swindon Council during the last nine years.

Last week the council called on the Government to shake-up the formula it uses to calculate the annual grant.

Council leader Mike Bawden believes the council is short-changed because the current formula fails to take into account higher house prices and transport costs.

His council is currently implementing cuts which include slashing the amount given in grants to community groups and centres.

However, figures released by the Government shows that the council's grant from central government has increased from £90.3m in 1997-98 to £165m in 2005-06.

The cash the council receives to spend on schools and public services has increased every year except in 2004-2005 when it fell from £150.2m to £148.3m.

Between 2004-05 and 2005-06 the town's grant jumped by 11 per cent.

Michael Wills requested the figures from Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and they were published as a written answer in the House of Commons.

Mr Wills told the Advertiser: "These figures are quite striking. Swindon quite demonstrably actually has a very good deal from government.

"But whether it be a Labour or Tory administration, the council has always used unfair funding as an excuse.

"They have been using this to good effect. But there is nothing for them to hide behind now. They can't keep making this excuse."

Coun Justin Tomlinson (Con Abbey Meads), the council's lead member for leisure, culture and recreation, said he was surprised that Mr Wills brought up the subject and rubbished the notion that councillors were hiding behind excuses.

He said: "Across the whole UK council tax bills have doubled since 1997 and local residents can see this for them- selves in black and white and since Labour came into the power, more cash may have been made available but this has been dwarfed by the additional areas that local authorities now have to cover such as social services.

"This has been their favourite form of stealth tax to avoid putting up income tax."