Council leader issues bankruptcy warning

Liam Randall, local democracy reporter

A recently elected council leader has warned the local authority he heads could face being effectively declared bankrupt due to significant financial issues.

Labour councillor Dave Hughes was elected by a large majority at a full meeting of Flintshire County Council held at County Hall in Mold this afternoon (Tuesday, 24 September).

The Llanfynydd representative used his maiden speech to caution colleagues over the financial challenges the authority is facing, with an estimated budget gap of £38.4m for the next financial year.
Cllr Hughes said it meant the council was “staring down the barrel” of potentially being forced to issue a section 114 notice, preventing it from committing to any new spending.

The former deputy leader takes over from Ian Roberts, who stepped down in July following a backlash over plans to reduce the frequency of black bin collections in Flintshire to once every three weeks.

Unity

During his speech, Cllr Hughes said there were would be difficult times ahead for the authority, but pledged to bring unity across all parties.

The cabinet member for streetscene and transportation said: “What I would like to see in this chamber is that we have a lot more harmony.

“We are here for one thing and that is to represent the public of Flintshire.

“We have a massive task ahead of us with a 114 notice staring at us down the barrel of a gun.

“What I’m asking for is a lot more harmony so that we can get out of this problem.”

Council officials have blamed a large rise of ten per cent in operating costs for the bleak financial outlook.

Marginal uplift

Meanwhile, independent analysis of the Welsh Government’s latest budget suggests that only a marginal uplift in funding is expected for local authorities next year.

Cllr Hughes was elected as leader with 44 votes, compared to seven for Flintshire People’s Voice councillor Alasdair Ibbotson and five for Liberal Democrat group leader Andrew Parkhurst. There were also seven abstentions.

His nomination was put forward by fellow deputy council leader Christine Jones, who backed him to guide the authority through the financial problem.

She said: “Dave has the experience and integrity to lead Flintshire Council over the coming months, which are going to be extremely difficult for us all.

“It’s going to be very challenging for us all as we continue to support our residents and our communities and to protect our frontline services during these extremely difficult financial times.”
The council previously said it could be forced to make savings of more than ten per cent across all departments to bridge the financial shortfall.

Officials warned this would have a significant impact on key services.

Tributes were also paid at the meeting to Cllr Roberts, who served for more than five years as council leader.

Labour councillor Ted Palmer welcomed Cllr Hughes’ appointment whilst also hitting out at the former leader’s critics.

He said: “I’d like to congratulate Cllr Hughes and reiterate our thanks to the former leader who faced immense criticism and blame during bad times.

“There was lots of finger pointing and blame but I became a councillor to find solutions, not to create problems.

“People who point the finger should remember that there’s always three fingers pointing back at you.”
Labour currently has 29 councillors on the 67-member authority and forms an administration with the support of members of the Eagle independent group.