Opposition leader Dan Thomas said the move was “a short term fix with long term consequences” reports David Floyd

The Conservative opposition has slammed Barnet Council’s Labour leadership for a proposal to reduce pension contributions to help plug the authority’s budget gap.

The move follows last week’s announcement of a £45million budget gap for the 24/25 financial year, which has seen the administration identify £35m worth of savings so far.

Tonight’s meeting of the borough’s Pension Fund Committee will consider proposals for an 8% reduction in contribution rate to the borough’s pension pot for the 24/25 and 25/26 financial years.

Meeting papers state that the council is seeking to save between £5m and £8m a year for two years by reducing the contributions.

It explains that the council had been paying more than the minimum advised amount to tackle a previous deficit – and has taken advice from an actuary before making the proposals for the reduced contribution.

However, Conservative leader Dan Thomas is not convinced by the plan. He told Barnet Post: “Barnet Labour are desperately raiding the pension fund because they’ve crashed the council’s finances. This is a short term fix with long term consequences for staff pensions. Labour need to get a grip on their spending and stop blaming everyone else.”

The Pension Fund Committee will vote on whether to accept the proposals tonight.

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