Council leaders slammed over service delivery

OPPOSITION councillors in Newcastle have slammed the Labour leadership as complaints about services pile up.

- By JAMES ROBINSON

The Liberal Democrats said there were issues across a range of service areas including pest control, waste collection and weed control.

Leading Labour figures pointed out that the council has faced significant cuts over the past 15 years. The opposition was also criticised for a perceived attack on council staff, although the Lib Dems claimed the party was only critical of the council’s leadership.

Speaking at Wednesday's meeting of the council, Lib Dem councillor Mark Mitchell said: “At the beginning of September a resident contacted the council to have a fridge removed. They were told it would take six weeks and to just leave it outside.

“It took eight weeks to get a pest control appointment. I’m not denigrating the city or our council officers, who do a great job - but I’m complaining about the fact that our cabinet will not focus on service delivery and how we can make things better.