By Adrian Zorzut

Copyright yahoo

A west London council is looking to axe funding for toilets at Notting Hill Carnival due to an £82 million black hole caused by a shake-up in government financing.

Kensington and Chelsea said the proposal was part of a wider funding review of all non-statutory services.

The council already announced plans to reduce council tax relief for vulnerable residents and to review some of its community hubs, including Family Hubs. It also wants to lease out office space and is carrying out a voluntary redundancy scheme.

During an Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on September 17, Councillor Cem Kemahli, lead member for finance, digital and efficiency, said there needed to be “mature discussions” on savings the council was willing to make.

Asked if that included the council’s £1 million stake in Notting Hill Carnival, he said: “I think Carnival, personally, is a fantastic thing to have in the borough. It means Notting Hill is a word people hear around the world.

“I know people have different views on it, but it would be a real shame if something like that is used as a complete bargaining chip over really what is about timing.

“We need to be able to budget for this. It may be that we’re not able to contribute as much, or offer as many toilets as residents may like, but these are going to have to be small decisions in what is a bigger hole.”

Labour’s Claire Simmons said toilets “aren’t a luxury” and shouldn’t be considered for the axe.

She said: “I don’t the think number of toilets is something that might, really, reasonably, should be a priority, a first [on the] go-to list on how we can cut cost and ‘lets take toilets away from human beings’.”

Cllr Kemahli said event organisers had a budget for toilets and this year the council added extra money towards it.

The comment came after fellow Tory councillor Gregory Hammond asked if “nothing should be off the table” in the council’s review of non-statutory services.

“We really do need to approach this with a blank sheet of paper and that would include, and I need to propose this, Notting Hill Carnival – a million pounds – is it something the government might notice if a million pounds from that was pulled? It might be a lever,” Cllr Hammond said.

Cllr Kemahli said the financial situation wasn’t all “doom-and-gloom”. He said: “I think this council has been well run for many years and it has the capacity and the ability to weather this incredible storm. It is a shock of a storm – it’s not one where they’ve given us enough time to plan for – but basing everything off just purely statutory isn’t probably too far [from where we need to be].

“I think, broadly, the council needs to be very bold about how we take these decisions and where we’re willing to make bigger savings… Does that mean we need to start from the basis we need to offer the absolute bare minimum? I don’t think so.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Linda Wade agreed there should be a review of funding for Carnival.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “At the time that the borough is facing a reduction of Central Government grant with a pressing need to save money to protect frontline services – everything should be on the table as part of the discussion – procurement and monitoring of services being one.

“The Notting Hill Carnival is important, it’s part of the character and culture of the area, but it must be recognised that this is now a London-wide, indeed an international event, and a review of how it’s funded has be undertaken and not rely solely on the borough to fund.”

In July, the council provided a “one-off” £232,000 payment to fund this year’s event. Westminster City Council and the Greater London Authority also provided funds to a cover an almost £1 million request from Notting Hill organisers.

At the time, organiser warned the event may not go ahead because of “critical public safety concerns”. Dispensing the funds, Deputy Leader Kim Taylor-Smith said the council faced “significant funding pressures” due to the Government’s funding proposal and the payment was “for this year only”.

Notting Hill Carnival has been contacted for comment.

Asked for further comment on the proposal to consider cutting Carnival funding, Cllr Kemahli supplied a statement which read: “Notting Hill Carnival is a valued community event which runs with support from public sector partners and this year the council stepped in by providing a one-off additional funding to enhance safety and crowd management.

“Following the Government’s Fairer Funding proposals, the council now faces significant financial pressures over the next three years, with budget gaps of around £80 million and no decisions have been made about future funding as we navigate through this unprecedented challenge.

“We remain committed to supporting Carnival and will work with the organisers and our partners to put on a safe and successful event in the future.”