TORY councillors at Warrington are set to vote against Labour’s budget on Monday claiming it is inconsistent with the council’s climate change pledges.
Cllr Ken Critchley will lead the opposition response and Birchwood counciillor Nigel Balding will question whether the budget is consistent with pledges made when the council declared a Climate Change Emergency in 2019.
He will urge fellow councillors to vote against the Budget because it will fail to reduce the carbon emissions of the council quickly enough.
Cllr Balding said: “Large parts of the Budget are devoted to strategies for Capital and Treasury Management.
They identify climate change as a risk to be considered when looking at counterparties for borrowing, lending and investment, and they describe the need to minimise risks by using Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles when considering potential loans and investments.
“But these strategies are not consistent with the council’s management of its own operations, so the irony is that the council’s strategies would preclude it from investing in itself!
“As an organisation, Warrington Borough Council fails its own tests for having a good record on reducing carbon emissions and ESG.”
“On spending, there is just one item related to climate change, which is a single line in the Revenue Reserves section and has an entry of £500k labelled ‘To fund climate change schemes’. This reserve is carried over from last year when it was unspent and there is no indication of positive action or any associated plan for the money.”
Cllr Balding added: “Even if there is a plan for this £500k, then it is still a fraction of what is needed for the council to address issues with insulation, heat pumps and electric vehicles. It is tiny in comparison with historical investments, for example in 2013 Warrington approved the spending of £34 million on replacing street lights.
“The new LED street lights have since saved this council millions in energy costs, maintenance and improved road safety.”
“The target we set ourselves in 2019 was to be net-zero in carbon emissions by 2030. Three years down the line, and with only eight years to go, the proposed budget does little if anything to help us on that journey.
“I’d like to urge all councillors to put on the pressure to make a budget which meets the council’s ESG aspirations – a budget that is compatible with the declaration of a Climate Change Emergency; and a budget that we can be proud of.”
