Brighton Greens throw down gauntlet to Pickles and Labour on Council Tax Referendum

Brighton Greens have decided to call the Coalition's bluff and hold a referendum on raising council tax to protect adult social care in the city. The controversial move will also put Labour on the spot and is likely to lead to debate amongst anti-cuts activists between those who see the priority as saving services and those who see the rise as yet another burden on a population who have seen a cut in benefits, rises in prices and rents and a reduction in wages in real terms.

The decision to let the people decide is a radical move and whichever way the vote goes will bring the debate about the impact of the Coalition's cuts to local authority funding right out into the open.

The decision to hold the referendum has been backed  by all Brighton's Green councillors, by Caroline Lucas MP, Keith Taylor MEP  for the south East, and party leader Natalie Bennett.

This is the statement on the Brighton and Hove Green Party website:

The UK's only Green council administration – in Brighton and Hove – is proposing a referendum of local people on a council tax rise to protect services for the city's most vulnerable.

As a response to central Government cuts, the minority Green administration has been working to find ways of funding local services threatened by coalition cuts, including care for the elderly.

It is asking people to consider a Council Tax increase of 4.75%, which would be used directly to fund adult social care services, including care for the elderly, and grants to third sector organisations. Residents would be asked to vote on the possible increase in a referendum - the first of its kind in the modern era.

The proposal for a referendum, announced today by Green council leader Jason Kitcat, was a unanimous decision of Green councillors and has the full support of Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas, South East Green MEP Keith Taylor and Green Party leader Natalie Bennett.

It comes as Eric Pickles, for the coalition government, is paving the way to restrict councils to a rise of 1.5% or less, on top of draconian cuts already announced. Three quarters of county councils and a third of other councils have already indicated that they plan to increase council tax to meet growing need and mitigate the worst of Westminster's cuts.

Councillor Jason Kitcat, leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said:

The Coalition’s cuts mean we cannot deliver the services we were elected to provide and which our consciences say we should provide. We have no choice but to seek the views of local people on funding these services through a tax increase.

Westminster's ideologically driven cuts to local councils are huge and relentless while demand for our services continues to grow. Vulnerable people who depend on our services are being threatened from Westminster like never before.

We have so far been successful in saving tens of millions of pounds but we can no longer find enough efficiencies to absorb all the cuts. Without today's proposal, I fear for the serious impacts on the most vulnerable in our city from the Coalition's cuts.

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

This is a bold move and one that I know the Council is taking very reluctantly. The people have not voted for austerity. They have not chosen to have services they rely on destroyed by draconian cuts.

This is an appalling situation, for which the Coalition Government is alone to blame. A referendum would allow the people of Brighton and Hove, including my constituents in Brighton Pavilion, to decide on the best response 

 Natalie Bennett, the leader of the Green Party, said:
  
As Greens we believe that decisions should be made closest to the people who are affected. Instead of letting Whitehall impose cuts on vulnerable people in Brighton & Hove, this announcement takes the decision to the people.

It reflects Green principles being campaigned for around the country. Our Oxfordshire county councillors, in opposition, last year made a bid for a 3.5% rise to protect social care, and I know other local parties will be putting forward similar proposals this year.

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, candidate in the 2014 EU elections and former city councillor, said:

Across the south east we're seeing councils cut to the bone and all too often it is the most vulnerable who suffer. This announcement gives the people of Brighton & Hove a chance to decide for themselves what they want and to consider the best way to protect the vulnerable in the city from vicious Tory cuts.

The proposal for Brighton & Hove will pass in Council, in February, unless opposed by both Labour and Tory councillors. It would then proceed to a ballot on 22nd May - the same time as elections for European Parliament, which would significantly save on administration costs.

Jason Kitcat continued:

The other parties, especially Labour, will need to decide whether they trust the people of Brighton and Hove to make this decision. The Green administration I lead did not seek an election mandate to raise taxes in this way and in previous years I have opposed going down this route. But the unprecedented pressure on our budget from Westminster can no longer be absorbed, so we are seeking a democratic opinion from local residents - those who pay council tax and those who rely on the services it funds.

Westminster is threatening services for the elderly, who have worked hard all their lives and deserve our support in their old age — not reductions in the services which are often a lifeline for them. The city’s charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations provide essential services across our city’s communities. We must be able to support them.

Current calculations show that a 4.75% increase means a rise for a Band C property by £5.30 a month and for a Band D property by £5.97. Those claiming Council Tax Reduction will still be protected by the existing scheme.

Councillor Leo Littman, Lead member for Finance, said:

This is an increase of less than £6 a month for the average household and nothing for those on low incomes who claim under our extensive Council Tax Reduction scheme. We know many Brighton and Hove residents are hard-pressed but we hope they will see this level of increase – equal to less than half a pint of beer a week - a reasonable price to pay for maintaining key services.

The storm clouds ahead for next year’s very severe financial picture mean we need to act now. We are of course continuing to work on saving money through reviewing fees, generating new business and selling off spare buildings. But that won’t be enough in the next two years to protect the city’s elderly and vulnerable from Osborne’s austerity agenda. Fortunately the upcoming European elections mean we can hold this major consultation with our residents for less than it would have otherwise cost.

Key elements of these revised council tax budget proposals, which will be published in full for the Policy & Resources Committee meeting of 13th February, include:

• Protecting service delivery for key adult social care services, including home care, residential community care, day services, learning disabilities employment support and restoring subsidy to Able & Willing service;
• Protecting full amount of funds to third sector grants programme and sports grants programme;
• 4.75% council tax increase which would raise £2.75m more than December’s draft budget which assumed 2% tax increase;
• Referendum to be held on 22nd May along with European Parliamentary Elections.

GMB strike action in Brighton suspended

Strike action by CityClean GMB  in Brighton members has been suspended for 28 days from  Monday to allow a ballot of members on a Council offer to take place. The offer is preliminary until the formal consultation period is completed. The offer will be discussed with Unison tomorrow and other areas will  need to be negotiated with both unions.

I understand that the work-to-rule is also suspended and there will be an extensive clean up and catch-up work programmed in now for the next fortnight.

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, tweeted tonight:

Thanks to @gmbcityclean for returning to work while ballot members on council offer - importance of their work appreciated more than ever

Brighton Green Party and GMB move a little closer on cityclean dispute

Senior members of Brighton & Hove Green Party have issued statements in response to the GMB's stated intention for their members in cityclean to go on strike for a week starting this Friday 14th June.

Leader of the council and convenor of the Green administration, Jason Kitcat, said:
 
"I am disappointed by the GMB decision to begin industrial action this Friday. I understand the strong feelings involved and am committed to ensuring there is a negotiated solution to resolving the difficult historical equal pay issues for the council's pay and allowances. The council's negotiating team is engaging openly and regularly with both recognised trade unions.

 "During the forthcoming strike week, which starts on Friday, the environmental health of the city and its residents is clearly essential and council officers will continue to meet their public health legal obligations but this administration will not sanction the use of agency or contract workers to do the regular work of legitimately striking council staff whilst those staff are out on strike.

"Accordingly, I am able to announce that all agency workers currently engaged in refuse collection and street cleaning will be withdrawn from service by 10pm on Thursday night, the day before the strike is due to begin, and agency workers will not be deployed in these areas during the strike week.

 "The Council continues to invite both recognised unions to negotiating meetings. That offer is being made daily. I urge the GMB to return to the table."

 Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: 

"I know from my postbag that residents in the city are worried about health issues and also about the fair and proper treatment of striking cityclean workers, so I welcome Jason's announcement. This is good news and I hope that now the position on this has been made clear, GMB negotiators will be prepared to return to negotiations before Friday."

On behalf of Brighton & Hove Green Party, chair Rob Shepherd said:

"It is with a heavy heart that I realise industrial action is imminent. But the Greens in Brighton & Hove have been saying all along that agency staff will not be used for strike breaking during next week's strike and Jason has confirmed this unambiguously. With this said, and with the agency workers being withdrawn well before the strike begins, I join Caroline and Jason in encouraging the GMB negotiators back to the table before Friday."

In response the GMB issued this statement:

GMB has welcomed a commitment from the leader of Brighton Council that no agency or contractors will be used during any period of industrial action. The commitment was made in an e-mail from Council leader Jason Kitcat who said:

“This administration will not sanction the use of agency or contract workers to do the regular work of legitimately striking Council staff whilst those staff are out on strike. Accordingly, I am able to announce that all agency workers currently engaged in refuse collection and street cleaning will be withdrawn from service by 10pm on Thursday night, the day before the strike is due to begin, and agency workers will not be deployed in these areas during the strike week.”

As a result of this commitment GMB has confirmed that it will engage in negotiations with the Council to see if a way forward can be found.

Mark Turner, GMB Branch Secretary said:

“This is a small first step for the Council on the way to resolving this dispute. As a result GMB has confirmed that it is willing to attend talks to listen to what the Council have to say.

I will however say that there will need to be substantial movement in their position for industrial action to be averted. Whilst our members do not take strike action lightly, they cannot be expected to accept these reductions to their take home pay. I would like to thank those Councillors in the administration who have supported our members and brought about this decision.”

Brighton Green Party calls for Green councillors to 'take back' control of pay review process

This Green Party press release sheds more light on the current situation in Brighton and Hove

A meeting of the Brighton & Hove Green Party earlier this week overwhelmingly agreed that it could not support any Brighton & Hove City Council pay offer now being made that would leave staff worse off.

The council's pay offer, which it suggests will affect about 10% of staff, varies from employee to employee, so each offer is now being individually communicated to staff members by their managers during a 90 day 'staff consultation'.

Hundreds of staff face a drop in take home pay, offset by one-off, lump-sum compensation packages; the council has stated that, as a result of allowance changes and the compensation, some affected staff will be better off while others have to decide whether they feel the compensation is enough to offset their overall loss. This is an individual decision.

Much play has been made on social media that individuals may lose up to £95/week, or more than £4,000 a year. However, unofficial sources have recently revealed that a reduction of that level applies to just three employees and does not take into account their compensation package, which is worth about three years' losses.

Most staff face lower reductions and lower compensation, generally worth between two and three years of loss, sometimes a little more.

The complete picture is not this simple but it seems clear that once the compensation is gone, low paid staff will be living on even lower weekly take home pay. This has angered staff and it's unacceptable to the Brighton & Hove Green Party, which has resolved to campaign against it.

BHGP chair Rob Shepherd said:

“The party's made it clear it cannot support a final offer that appears to leave council staff with a cut in their consolidated take home pay. These include some of the city's lowest paid workers and we understand how they must be feeling.

"We recognise that the offer particularly benefits women who, it seems, have not been treated fairly under the existing payment structure. It goes without saying that women should be paid the same as men in comparable situations and we support creating a fair and gender-balanced pay structure. But it is not right if low paid people of either sex end up with a loss of income to achieve that balance.

"We're also disappointed with the council administration's decision to delegate pay negotiations entirely to council officers, meaning the administration now has no say in what's being proposed. This is a council offer, not a BH Greens offer. If there are pay cuts on the table, they are not in our name.

“We hope that, as a result of the party's intervention, the Green administration will find a way to take back control of the process and ensure the council will look again at any offers that result in consolidated pay losses."

Green MP Caroline Lucas said:

"Since the negotiations began, I have made my opposition to any cuts in take home pay very clear.

"I am therefore disappointed that, whilst some will gain from this process, a number will face a reduction in the money they have to live off each week.

"This is unacceptable. I know from the many constituents who have written to me about this issue that they agree.

"So too does the Brighton and Hove Green Party, whose members have voted to condemn the offer and also express dismay that responsibility for the pay negotiations was handed to council officers.

"With the support of the local Green Party, I have pledged to campaign against proposals made to workers that will lead to a loss of pay, in accordance with the local and national party's democratically agreed anti-cuts and anti-austerity policies."

Rob Shepherd added:

"We also condemn the city's Labour and Conservative parties for creating the mess that the council is seeking to manage. They are quick to criticise the Green administration yet they created the problem.

"Going back decades, both parties have presided over agreements which look blatantly unfair to some parts of the workforce and especially women. Both parties permitted what look like unethical, unequal deals. And both parties were warned time and again by council officers that they needed to sort it out but they bottled it in fear of industrial disputes.

"Whatever the current state of the pay offer, it is utterly hypocritical of Labour and Conservatives to say anything other than 'sorry'."

"However, it’s more important that all politicians now pull together in the interests of some of the city's lowest paid workers. These people must be at the heart of whatever we do."

Responding to the party’s decision, council leader Jason Kitcat said:

"I very much understand and sympathise with the concerns expressed in the local party motion.

"Members of council staff have just received the council's offer to create a fair and clear system of allowances which completes the final step of the ‘single status’ process. There is now a 90 day consultation period for staff to consider the offer, how it will affect them and respond to their managers with their views.

"I believe it is important to not prejudge that consultation, how staff may consider the proposals, nor any negotiations which I hope will follow.

"During this consultation period I am confident that the council continues to be open to any suggestions from staff and unions that could further improve the offer whilst ensuring it remains legally and financially viable."