BRADFORD’S failing Children’s Services department was centre of debate at a meeting where Bradford Council set its annual budget – a budget that will see Council Tax rise by 4.99 per cent.

And the Council Leader claimed it was the District’s “most challenging budget ever.”

At yesterday’s budget meeting opposition politicians claimed years of poor management by Council leaders had led to the current situation, where the taxpayer had to fund eye watering costs of residential care and agency staff.

And the Council’s leadership highlighted the years of Government cuts that had left spending power a fraction of what it used to be.

In April a new Children’s Trust will take over the District’s Children’s Services, which was first rated Inadequate in 2018. Earlier this year a follow up inspection found that the service had got worse in many areas.

But Bradford Council will still have to fund the service, and the budget, approved at a meeting on Thursday, included an extra £57m to tackle the spiralling costs in Children’s Services.

These include the rising number of high-cost placements for children in care, which can cost £270,000 a year per child, and the high level of agency staff employed in Children’s Services, which costs over £2m a month.

The budget also set aside £58.4m to cover inflation, pay rises and rising energy costs and an additional £5m for adult social care.

The Council will also have to dip into its reserves to the tune of £44.3m to balance the budget.

Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said the coming year’s budget had been “the most challenging ever” and added: “We’ve had to mine reserves further than we’ve ever had to before.

“We are living in the most challenging of times, we’ve had years’ of austerity, the Pandemic, war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis. Bradford is not a place that can tolerate big economic shocks.”

She said because of austerity, Council spend was half of what it was a decade ago. She said even with the Council Tax rise, Bradford residents would still be paying less in Council Tax than most neighbouring areas.

Referring to Children’s Services, she said: “It is our number one investment priority. Since the Ofsted judgement in 2018 it has been more difficult to retain staff, so we rely on significantly more expensive agency staff.

“I am sorry that our Children’s Services are not good enough.”

She pointed out that it was not just Council’s feeling the strain – the criminal justice system and NHS were also feeling pressure. Cllr Hinchcliffe added: “Let’s not pretend it is just Bradford Council.”

She said if the Government implemented its long promised fair funding formula, Bradford would get an extra £32m a year.

Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons, Baildon) presented the Conservative budget, said: “Using a Yorkshire phrase, this year’s budget can be seen as ‘a bit of a to do.’ “Shifting through the wreckage of the Executive’s budget proposals, it seems there are very few deckchairs on this year’s Titanic left to be shifted.

“Next year this Council may be looking at being unable to balance its budget.”

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He described a previous budget as “nonsense” due to the fact that the Council had underestimated how many external children’s social care places would be required.

He said Children’s Service decisions made by the Council several years ago were now having a “catastrophically negative” effect on current budgets, adding: “These were disastrous errors by the current political leadership.”

The party’s budget included proposals to scrap equality and diversity posts in the Council, and removing evening and Sunday parking charges at a number of District car parks.

Proposing the Green budget, which includes a £10m climate fund and investment in solar panels, Councillor Matt Edwards (Tong) said: “The government needs to lift its head out of the sand and deliver a funding settlement for local councils that allows us to provide the services we need – and deserve.”

The Liberal Democrat budget, presented by Councillor Brendan Stubbs (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) included £250,000 to fund several ‘Shop/Business watch’ schemes across the District, £750,000 to fund improve in areas blighted by anti-social behaviour and vandalism and £500,000 initial set-up cost to fund a new Office of a Children’s Commissioner, which Cllr Stubbs said would aid the improvement in Children’s Services.

He said: “Previous Labour decisions taken to cut budgets and services for children have left the Council’s budget in a shocking state with tens of millions extra being needed to fix service in a crisis of the ruling groups making.

“This has been compounded by complete incompetence for the Conservative Government over the past eight months and not being all that great for the previous 12 years.

“It is unbelievable that they can deliberately cause economy chaos for everyone else as part of their factional squabbles it is even worse to then expect everyone to pay for the mess to be cleaned up.

“It is a real shame that the people of Bradford have to suffer the double whammy of arrogant and out of touch of a Labour Council and the incompetence of the Conservative Government.”

Councillor Noor Elahi (Bradford Independent Group, Little Horton) presented the Independent’s budget. He said: “The 4.99 per cent Council Tax rise will come as a blow to the residents in my ward.”

He said it came on top of rising energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis.

Each party’s amended budget went to the vote, with the Council’s Labour majority meaning the original budget was approved.