Kingston Council has passed a motion condemning a "hugely disappointing" lack of funding provided in the Government's Autumn Statement for essential services in local communities. 

The motion, proposed by Council Leader Andreas Kirsch (Liberal Democrats) on 14 December, highlights the critical issues faced by Kingston and calls for immediate action to address the financial challenges: 

• Send a cross-party letter to the Government, urging sufficient funding for councils to deliver their budgets, set balanced budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, and develop medium-term financial strategies without substantial funding gaps. 
• Advocate for long-term funding that reflects current and future demands for services. 
• Emphasize the need for a renewed focus on prevention to address existing and future demands for services such as social care, homelessness support, and community safety. 
• Call for a comprehensive review of Relative Needs and Resources, considering both data and formulas used to distribute funding. 
• Continue working with partners to secure funding for maintaining high standards of social care and public services. 
• Support and participate in the Local Government Association's cross-party campaign, #SaveLocalServices. 

Kirsch also pointed out there has been a 27% net reduction in local government funding since 2010 and urged the government to reverse this trend.  

They underscored Kingston's current financial predicament, being squeezed by inflationary and pay pressures, escalating costs in children's social care, and the rising expenses associated with services for individuals with special educational needs and disabilities.  

Currently, according to the Council, the Cumulative Budget Gap (the difference between what the council earns and what it spends), stands at nearly £11m.  

The council also drew attention to the increasing costs of homelessness services, temporary housing, asylum, and resettlement. 

With diminishing resources, councillors said they are finding it "increasingly difficult" to support local and national agendas on key issues such as housing, the cost-of-living crisis, and climate change, whilst also balancing the books.  

Some councillors however, took this as a chance to condemn the government as a whole. 

Cllr Andrew Wooldridge (Liberal Democrat) quipped that he would keep his speech short before adding "hopefully like the lifetime of this current government". 

Cllr James Giles (Independent) condemned such comments, saying that although the motion "could have been passed unanimously", the way it was debated had "alienated" conservative councillors. 

He added that it was "entirely remiss" that an "opportunity to get some cross-party unity" had been "wasted". 

Despite this, the Council resolved by 30 votes to 2, with 3 abstentions, to endorse the motion.