Labour councillors on Sheffield City Council have been left red-faced as their pledge to reduce consultancy costs was left in tatters by figures released today.

In the two months since Labour leaders promised to get a grip on extortionate consultancy costs, the taxpayers’ bill has increased three-fold and reached a record high.

When consultancy costs of £4.7 million were first revealed by local Liberal Democrats in January, Labour’s Cabinet Member for Finance pledged to take personal control of the situation.

However, in March 2013, Sheffield City Council spent a staggering £891,000 on external consultants, the highest figure on record and more than three times the £299,000 recorded in January 2013. The February 2013 bill of £461,000 also outweighed the average monthly bill in 2012 of £375,000.

Cllr Andrew Sangar, Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Finance, said:

“Local taxpayers were shocked and appalled to learn that £4.7 million of council funds that could have supported local services, like leisure centres and libraries, was instead being used to line the pockets of highly-paid consultants.

“Yet since Labour’s Finance boss promised to get a grip on the situation, costs have soared and the taxpayer bill has spiralled out of control. This just goes to show that Labour bosses cannot be trusted to manage the city’s finances.”

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam, has written to the Leader of Sheffield City Council to urge the Labour run Authority to drop their anti-business policies, which could cost the City nearly 2,000 jobs.

Recent weeks have seen the leadership of the Council criticised for:

• a lukewarm reception to the proposal by IKEA to locate a new £60m store within Sheffield, which would create 700 new jobs;
• the rejection of a proposal by NEXT to locate a new department store in Sheffield, which would have created 120 new jobs;
• a failure to progress the Sevenstone project, which would create 1,000 new jobs;
• a decision to increase city centre parking charges and vote to ban ice cream vans more than 5 years old.

As a result the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce has stated that “Sheffield’s going backwards” whilst the South Yorkshire Federation of Small Businesses said that the Council has “lost touch with the business reality of the 21st Century”.

Nick Clegg has outlined a different approach which could secure the potential 1,820 jobs on offer. His letter notes that the Council should:

‘work with IKEA to overcome any planning issues, open negotiations with NEXT to see how they could go ahead with their investment and invite other developers to look at delivering the Sevenstone project.’

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam, said:

“As a Sheffield MP I can’t stand by and stay silent whilst Labour’s anti-business approach in the Town Hall costs our City nearly 2,000 new jobs. A change of policy is urgently required.

“Having outlined an alternative approach to the Leader of Council, I hope that Labour councillors will now listen and act. Along with the local business community, I am becoming increasingly frustrated that new jobs and new investment are being thrown away at a time when we need them most.”

Local councillors have slammed Sheffield City Council’s waste strategy as serious fly-tipping continues in communities across Sheffield.

Local Liberal Democrats in Stannington recently reported serious incidents on Stannington Road and Beeley Wood Lane.

Many local residents continue to blame the problems on the decision of ruling Labour councillors to reduce recycling services, at the same time as ending weekly black bin collections. In particular, massive queues have formed outside recycling centres, where hours have been reduced and strikes have been persistent.

Cllr David Baker, local Liberal Democrat councillor for Stannington, said:

“Labour leaders like to trumpet the action they’ve taken in their favoured areas, but that’s cold comfort for local residents in Stannington who all agree that these disgusting incidents are on the rise.

“Rather than simply waiting for these incidents to happen and then chasing shadows, the Council need to re-think their shambolic waste strategy. Most recycling centres have seen opening hours cut, while the centre in Labour’s favoured areas remains open seven days a week.

“Increasing hours at local recycling centres could be vital in stopping these problems in the first place.”

Labour councillors have been blamed for attempts to hike Council Tax across the country, in particular for 86,000 Sheffielders currently living alone.

A submission made by the Local Government Association to Government Ministers asks for powers to remove Council Tax discounts, including the single-person discount.

The move, which would see single-people’s Council Tax hiked by 33%, has been branded a ‘Bridget Jones tax’. The change would affect 86,000 Sheffielders currently living alone and would result in a £372 yearly hike for a single person living a typical Band D property in Sheffield.

The document also calls to end for Council Tax referendums, allowing councils to force through excessive Council Tax hikes against local will. The proposals could also force students to pay council tax for the first time.

Sources assert the measures are being pushed for by Labour-run authorities.

Cllr Simon Clement-Jones, Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Finance, said:

“It seems Labour’s Town Hall bosses are falling back on their favourite trick in hard times – massive hikes in Council Tax.

“Instead of cutting Town Hall waste or ending costly pet projects, Labour councillors want to force local residents to pay more for a worse service. It’s particularly unfair to hit single people, who make less use of council services, with a potential 33% increase in Council Tax or £31 a month.”

South Yorkshire’s Labour Police Chief has been slammed as the one of the least hard-working in the country, new research has revealed.

Shaun Wright, Labour’s Police and Crime Commissioner, was highlighted in new research for making just six public decisions since his election in November, compared to eight-five in other forces.

The six decisions rank among the lowest in the country, with just three police commissioners recording less.

Shaun Wright has already come under fire for blowing £6,000 on security for his home, spending £45,000 appointing a Labour Party crony as his Deputy and appointing a personal spin-doctor on a salary of almost £84,000.

Cllr Penny Baker, Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Community Safety, said:

“While Shaun Wright doesn’t quite have the dubious honour of being the Britain’s laziest police chief, this research puts him pretty close. Local people will be left wondering what our local police commissioner actually does to justify his big-bucks salary.

“Aside from squandering taxpayers’ money and appointing cronies to high-paid positions, Labour’s police chief seems to have achieved little since he was elected. Local people who are worried about police numbers on their street deserve better.”