£100k more for Library Books!

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 15th Feb 2005

The Liberal Democrat Administration of West Berkshire Council announced last week that the £100,000 cut from the Council's Library Stock Fund budget is to be restored.

Council Leader Royce Longton (Lib Dem, Burghfield) commented that:

"This is a move we have been wanting to make ever since the cut was introduced in 2001. At that time the Council's finances were under tremendous pressure because we did not receive our fair share of the former Berkshire County Council budget when the County Council was abolished in 1998. This necessitated trimming £23 million the budget over two or three years; our main priority was to maintain excellent services in education and social care. The Library Stock Fund was one of the areas we were forced to cut, but it has always been our intention to restore the funding as soon as we could. As I noted a few weeks ago this year's fair settlement will allow us both to increase spending and to increase Council Tax less than in recent years. The Library Stock Fund was one of the first areas which we have identified for an increase in expenditure."

Responding to the Conservative Group's press release, issued this week, Cllr Longton added:

"Yet again the Conservatives are jumping on the bandwagon and trying to claim credit for a Liberal Democrat long-term strategy. Increasingly, the Conservatives party political point scoring is getting in the way of good Government.

"Since 2001, when the fund was cut, the Conservatives have failed to understand the finances of running West Berkshire Council - this has been shown by their failure, year-on-year, to submit an alternative Council budget. Will the Conservatives finally get their act together this year? Or will they continue to be a reactionary Group that cannot be trusted to run our Council?"

ENDS