BUDGET cuts to vital services are leading more people into poverty it was claimed as Shropshire Council approved its budget and set a 3.99 per cent rise in council tax.

The full council met to approve the £593.080m budget on Thursday and despite council leader Peter Nutting saying he was pleased with how the books were being balanced, Lib Dem leader Roger Evans and Labour’s Alan Mosley, both said they were concerned about proposed cuts to services such as rural buses, highways and adult social care day centres.

Councillor Nutting said: “The government is distracted by Brexit and not paying enough attention to local government funding, so we are unsure long term about what settlements we will get after the next financial year.

“But we are confident that we have done an excellent job in producing this budget and balancing the books.

“I would love to see the shire councils like Shropshire get as good funding as the metropolitan London boroughs but we will have to see what slice of cake we get in the autumn.

“But I continue to work with our MPs and they do push our case but I would like to see them up the ante and do more of that where possible.”

But Councillor Evans did not agree with Councillor Nutting and said he felt the budget did not add up.

He said: “It doesn’t meet the same figures I am getting, it doesn’t add up to me. I have serious concerns.

“There are cuts coming all over, to customer service points, to adult social day centres and transport.

“Like Alice said when she looked through the looking glass, it is getting curiouser and curiouser.

“I cannot support this budget, it is wrong. Your leader in government says austerity is over. It is not. It has not stopped for those people using food banks, the number of which is increasing. This budget treats the poorest in our society with disdain.”

And Councillor Alan Mosley, the Labour group leader on the council,  added: “It is policy leading to poverty.

“In 10 years of Tory government things have got harder and harder and cuts have continues to bite.

“I include the Lib Dems in this as well as part of the coalition, so the crocodile tears in here from that group don’t wash with me.

“There have been £227m of cuts in Shropshire in 10 years of Tory rule and the staff numbers at this council have fallen from 4,014 to 2,508.”

He also said the county’s roads are getting worse, with potholes not being filled and safety records getting poorer.

 He added: “It is another sad say in the history of this council.”

But Councillor Malcolm Pate, a former leader of Shropshire Council hit back at the two group leaders.

He said: “I cannot believe the hypocrisy of the two main other party leaders on this council, I have sat here for 30 budget meetings and we had 28 per cent council tax increases under Labour.

“Don’t just sit here, Labour and Lib Dem and say ‘I don’t like this bit, I don’t like this bit’.

“Come up with an alternative fully costed budget and show us what you would do to balance the books, instead of sitting there picking out bits you don’t like, do your job.”

The budget was passed with 40 votes for, 19 against and one abstention.

The council tax rise was passed with 52 vote for and two abstentions.