"The council's leadership claimed it has found 100m in savings, 39.5m of which come from what it said was two net zero-related projects: 32m by scrapping a programme to make properties more environmentally friendly, and 7.5m by not making the council's fleet of vehicles electric by 2030. After Kemkaran announced these at a council meeting last July, Polly Billington, a Labour MP in Kent, requested details of the apparent savings via a freedom of information request, setting off a months-long battle with the council."
"The eventual answer said the two projects were documented in two lines of a potential capital projects section of the council's 2025-26 budget plans, but added they had no business cases or identified funding. Billington said the response showed Kemkaran's claims about the savings were a blatant lie."
"These supposedly cancelled net zero projects never existed, and the fantastical 39.5m savings figure she is spinning is something she completely made up."
Kent county council, with a 2.5bn annual budget, is among ten councils under Reform UK control and serves as a test of the party's governing competence. Leader Linden Kemkaran pledged a department for local government efficiency to prioritize value for money. Council leadership claimed 100m in savings, including 39.5m from cancelling two net-zero initiatives: a 32m property retrofit programme and a 7.5m shift away from electrifying the vehicle fleet by 2030. A freedom of information response showed those projects appeared only as two lines in potential 2025-26 capital plans with no business cases or funding, prompting accusations that the claimed savings were fabricated.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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