Kerching as council finds hundreds of thousands more to spend in advance of May’s elections in Milton Keynes

Even before the ink had dried on the finance department’s forecasts Milton Keynes councillors had their ideas how to use the windfall.

Councillors were also keen to point to other items on the papers presented to Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, which were a part of the 2019-20 budget.

These included £100,000 that was allocated to spruce up Greenley’s Local Centre. Redways Special School got £15,000 for the ceiling above its swimming pool, and an extra £400,000 was allocated for new grass playing fields at Fairfields.

The Labour cabinet heard that the council had managed to more than cope with rising costs of having 1,013 households in temporary accommodation, and an increase in the number of children in care.

Cllr Rob Middleton (Lab, Wolverton), the council’s equivalent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced his report on how the council’s 2019-20 budget is working out.

“Did you say there was a small underspend, Rob?” said a jocular council leader, Cllr Pete Marland (Lab, Wolverton). “Can you assure me that the reserves are in an adequate position at the moment?”

Cllr Middleton replied: “We have a prudent level of reserves.”

Referring to a member of the public who had turned up to lobby for a path to be resurfaced in Newport Pagnell, Cllr Marland said: “As Mr Carr was gracious enough to turn up to the council earlier that we put £60,000 into the 2020-21 budget, subject to outturn, for a path in whatever he wanted.”

At this point he invited Cllr Martin Petchey (Lab, Stantonbury) to speak.

Cllr Petchey, whose seat is up for grabs in May, said: “I wonder if I could put in a plea for some cleaning work to be done in Stantonbury and Bradville, please. It is long overdue.”

“I will certainly consider that,” said Cllr Marland, quicky adding: “I am considering it right now.

“I’ve also had representations from Beanhill regarding a clean up in Beanhill, and for Fullers Slade, and, from Cllr Darlington, regarding the very wet weather we’ve been having recently, and the number of cracks in our roads.

“And therefore what I am suggesting is that we fund the path in Newport Pagnell, £60,000 subject to outturn.

“That subject to outturn we fund £50,000 for plans for a clean up in Stantonbury and Bradville, that we fund, subject to outturn, £50,000 for clean up in Fullers Slade and Beanhill, and we allocate £100,000 from current reserves in year to fix potholes.

“Are you all happy with that? Is that ok?”

And Cllr Middleton said: “I think you make a very convincing case, leader.”

Cllr Marland then invited the cabinet to agree Cllr Middleton’s report, “with those extra bits of spending, that I’m sure people who are left in the audience might recognise as vitally important, but not quite as important as Greenleys Local Centre.”

The cabinet agreed.