PN insists government cut local councils' allocation

The Nationalist Party college of local councillors expressed its "disappointment" on the way the Labour government was treating local councils.

"While PN governments always showed trust in the councils by strengthening them, we now have a situation where councils cannot fulfil their ambitions because of a lack of resources and funds."

The college claimed that although before the March election the Labour Party was calling for an increase in the councils' budget, it had now cut the allocation when compared to last year.

In the past week, the PN has insistently argued that the allocation of funding to local councils had been cut, however the 2014 Budget estimates show that the funds for roads falling under councils' responsibility been reduced in both the 2013 Budget presented by the PN administration and the and the 2014 Budget.

Moreover, the 2014 budget did not implement further cuts in to the main financial allocation to local councils, remaining on the same levels as that of 2013, when a €500,000 cut was carried out.

However, the PN college of councillors reiterated that the allocation was cut by €500,000, adding that further cuts were carried out in the funds allocated to roads and waste collection. The PN college said that the cuts amounted to €1.7 million in total.

The PN college also expressed its disappointment at the local council association's silence on the cuts.