Council backs World Cup bid with £50,000
It came at the most significant cabinet meeting since the Conservatives charged to power in June, with the controversial issues of a money-saving jobs freeze and sweeping cuts to care home staff prominent on the agenda.
Members agreed to join a consortium bidding for Plymouth, as it goes head-to-head with Bristol to become one of the key locations if England is named as host in 2018.
Council leader John Hart said the investment was "comparatively modest", and could generate returns of up to £150 million for the county.
After the meeting, Coun Hart said success could "put the county on the map". He added: "I'm well aware that local government is entering difficult financial times when we must keep our spending under tight control.
"However, our financial backing of up to £50,000 is comparatively modest and is dependent on a thorough and workable business plan and all the other partners making similar or greater contributions."
Much of the rest of the meeting was dedicated to the tough economic decisions the council faces.
As previously reported in the Western Morning News, a recruitment freeze is planned to shed 500 jobs and save £20 million over two years.
The authority is shaking up care homes, to make services more efficient. So far, 70 posts have not been renewed, and around 130 more are planned to be shed.
Yesterday, opposition councillors opted to have the thrust of the debate once the consultation period starts to bring in the opinions of those affected.
But Brian Greenslade, the Lib-Dem who led the council for 16 years until the June elections, complained that he first heard about the proposals when he was contacted by the WMN.
He accepted that the council had to take measures to combat the fallout of the recession, when the authority expected to have around £50 million wiped off its budget. But he urged the cabinet to engage with a personnel partnership, involving members and officers, before pressing ahead with consultation.
However, Heather Barnes, executive director of corporate resources, warned such a move was not normal practice, and that it would "dangerous" to start on an issue involving efficiency savings.
The care homes proposal would mean a saving of £5 million in three years, and an investment of £735,000 into ensuring the properties are fit for purpose. There is also a proposal to make up to 18 redundancies – mainly in management – in the field of adult and community learning, to combat a projected overspend of £400,000.
Coun Greenslade appealed to the leader to bring the issue back to Cabinet after consultation, instead of delegating the decision to cabinet member Coun Stuart Barker.
Both items were approved to proceed to full consultation.
The council also opted to press ahead with stopping financial support for links with Baranya, a region of Hungary and Croatia, and pulling out of the Assembly of European Regions, previously dismissed as a "talking shop".
Comment on this story