Bedfordshire MP slams government's £35m support for Luton Borough Council

MP Richard Fuller criticised aspects of the government’s announcement that it would come to the rescue of four councils across the country yesterday (see story here).

The financial support allows Luton Borough Council to borrow up to £35m in order to balance its books.

Mr Fuller has described the arrangement as a "bail out" for local authorities "which have badly messed up their finances".

He said: “The right response from the government should have been to redirect each of these councils back to their local taxpayers requiring an additional charge on council tax bills to cover the extraordinary losses these councils had run up.

“Remember, most councils across the country are managing despite the additional pressure from Covid-19.

"These four councils are the exceptions: the worst of the lot.

"These council leaders should rightly have been told to go back to those who elected them for payment and take the electoral consequences.

“For years, Luton Borough Council, unlike Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire, has been able to rake in millions of pounds each year from its lucrative ownership of the land beneath Luton Airport.

"As planes have flown in and out of Luton airport, creating air and noise pollution for my constituents, money has gushed into Luton Borough Council coffers.

“When Labour-run Luton Borough Council went cap in hand to the government for a bailout, this was a golden opportunity to impose financial discipline; an opportunity perhaps, as I have previously suggested, for the benefits of Luton Airport to be used to help fund local policing from which everyone in the county could benefit.”

The conditions set on Luton Borough Council have been blasted by Mr Fuller as “pretty flimsy”, but suggests there is one clause (4.iii) that could result in Luton Airport's profits being shared out more widely in the region.

The clause will examine the council’s commercial arrangement with Luton airport, and a plan to government to reduce the local authority's financial exposure to the airport.

Mr Fuller added: “This bailout for Luton came the same day that Bedfordshire MPs were in Parliament to urge the Police Minister to improve financing for Bedfordshire Police and one week after a consultation closed on Luton airport flight paths.

“I strongly urge the government to build on this review to provide a means to direct a greater share of future revenues from the airport to provide extra funding for Bedfordshire Police.”

Luton Borough Council has been contacted for comment.