Plea for more positivity after 'toxic culture' at Central Bedfordshire council
Monthly budget update meetings in Central Bedfordshire must continue to set a more positive tone, after “a toxic culture” in the council chamber and online during the past year, a political group leader has warned.
“Things have been quite ugly in this chamber and also online, during the past year,” according to Liberal Democrat Central Bedfordshire Council Leighton Linslade South councillor Shaun Roberts.
“Debate is good and healthy, but far too often we’ve seen a toxic culture playing out which does nobody here any credit and is a poor advertisement for local politics,” he told a reconvened budget setting full council meeting.
“Talks between the groups since last week have been an overwhelmingly more positive experience,” he explained. “I hope there’ll be more of this spirit in the months ahead.
“We’ve prioritised getting help for our most vulnerable residents. I’m relieved the administration has listened and agreed to include a new hardship fund for those worst affected by local council tax support changes.
“If £500,000 doesn’t prove to be enough, more funding will be made available. The changes voted through last week will still cause real hardship and stress for our residents. But at least now there’ll be some help they can access.”
Executive member for finance and Independent Aspley and Woburn councillor John Baker acknowledged: “I’m looking forward to the advice from the group leader meetings.
“Difficult decisions lie ahead because the government’s taken £40m off us over three years. That’s why we had to implement local council tax support changes. We need to both increase our income and decrease our expenditure.”
CBC agreed its budget for 2026/27 on Thursday (March 5), which will “continue to protect essential services despite significant changes in government funding and rising demand for care provision”, said a local authority statement.
“The council has faced increasing pressure on its finances for several years because of the growing demand for adult social care and children’s services. These costs are expected to rise by £9.6m in 2026/27.
“Thanks to strong and prudent financial management, CBC was on track to meet these pressures, remain in a stable financial position and limit council tax increases to levels in line with inflation.
“But the government’s fairer funding changes have created a £17m financial shortfall for the year ahead. This means the council has had to act responsibly to rebalance its position, while continuing to prioritise the services residents value most.
“To achieve this, the budget includes £27m in efficiency measures, ensuring frontline services continue and the council’s running costs are reduced. The approved budget includes investing more than £320m for social care, waste and recycling, libraries, leisure, planning, parking and public protection.
“A further £130m will help maintain and build vital infrastructure, such as schools and roads. Councillors agreed to increase borrowing to fund more road maintenance, with this budget up from £10m to £14m to recognise how important this is to residents.”
Council leader and Independent Potton councillor Adam Zerny added: “We know how hard residents work for the money they hand over in council tax.
“Our job is to ensure they get the best possible value for that money. CBC has reduced its workforce by more than 150 people and made big changes to enable it to run more effectively.”