'Nobody is going to be able to splash the cash,' says new Labour leader of Peterborough City Council
Leader puts emphasis on ‘social value’
The new Labour leader of Peterborough City Council has warned that no one can ‘splash the cash’ as the group takes control for the first time in more than 20 years.
Councillor Dennis Jones steps up to the role of local authority leader after several years during which the council has fought to close a multi-million pound gap in its budget.
Last year the council was looking at a £6.2 million budget deficit but has since managed to deliver a balanced budget for 2024/25.
Paying tribute to the former administration for its work to ease the financial woes, Cllr Jones, who was chosen as leader following local elections earlier this month that made Labour the largest political group on the council, said: “Financially, the council is in a far better place than two years ago.
"But nobody can splash the cash – and that’s true of councils right across the country.
He said: “In some respects the financial constraints and the need to keep an eye on the finances make it all a little more straightforward.
"It stops the wild ‘we will do this, we will do that’ attitude – it isn’t spend, spend, spend."
But while Cllr Jones says that finance will always be a priority and that the council must continue to look at regeneration and inward investment there are other areas of concern.
He said: “We are one of the fastest growing cities and we need to keep financial investment in the city.
Ensuring social value
"But equally, I would not be true to myself or my Labour background, if I didn’t say we must also bring social value to the city.
"We can’t leave people behind.
“We have concentrated in the past too much on piecemeal short termism, we need to start playing a much longer game.”
Children’s services
A major cause of concern was the council’s Children's Services being graded 'Inadequate' by Ofsted earlier this year.
Cllr Jones said: “None of us want to see our children’s services rated inadequate.
"I want us to become a child friendly city. I want us to continue the journey towards excellence.
”And then we must dovetail that with action to encourage more people and families to want to move here, live here, stay here and prosper.”