THE main business at full council in Truro last week was setting the budget for the next financial year.

Council Tax will rise by 4.99 per cent. That’s not something anyone welcomes, but when bills go up, the sums must also add up. The budget puts proper investment into children’s services and adult social care, sorting problems early rather than leaving them to grow and cost even more.

One of the proposed savings from cabinet, with money as tight as it is, was to remove the £200,000 annual subsidy for concessionary bus travel before 9.30am. That caused strong cross-party opposition from backbench councillors. Liberal Democrat Steve Webb, who is a wheelchair user, led the case that cutting the subsidy would prevent people in rural areas from getting to work or medical appointments. I agreed, as did others.

However, credit where it’s due, the cabinet listened, found other places to make cuts and dropped the proposed saving. That was the right decision!

What did surprise me, though, was that no other party came forward with budget amendments, not even the Reform group. They said they have only been in post for ten months and hadn’t had enough time to identify savings. That rings hollow, given they were elected on promises to cut wasteful spending. It’s easy to campaign on slogans, but it’s harder to produce figures that actually add up.

For me, one of the most important discussions that day was the Housing Revenue Account. We will be putting more money into repairs after inheriting a large backlog. Over the next four years, £145-million will be invested to bring our 10,400 council properties up to decent homes standard. Another £65-million will be spent tackling mould and damp, something that should never have been allowed to get as bad as it did.

There have also been constructive meetings between Cllr Peter La Broy, the cabinet member for housing, and tenant representatives. Because rent increases were capped by the previous Conservative government, income hasn’t kept pace with repair costs. There is now broad agreement that rents need to rise by the amount allowed by government, which works out at about £5 per week extra for a three-bedroom council house. That increase will go straight back into improving homes and clearing the repair backlog. If we want decent housing, we have to pay for it.

The day after the council meeting, Torpoint councillor Rob Parsonage announced he was joining the Conservatives. Elected as a Reform councillor in May last year, he then left Reform to set up a new group but now, just a few months later, he has changed political allegiance again. Voters can make up their own minds about that record. Anyone standing as a Liberal Democrat goes through a proper approval process to make sure they genuinely share our values.

There will always be political drama, but the real work is balancing the books, repairing homes and keeping services going. That’s what residents expect us to focus on. And that is what we’re getting on with.