The council is weaker in our battle against health inequalities in Newcastle because Labour axing funds, short notice changes, poor decisions

There is no doubt last year has been very difficult for the Council. The staff have worked incredibly hard to keep the key services running as smoothly as possible in the city, Cllr Ali Avaei of the Liberal Democrats told Newcastle City Council tonight..
As a member of this chamber and as a healthcare professional I am very proud of the incredible work of our public health and social care teams. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their hard work.
We have been battling a global pandemic which certainly poses financial difficulties for the council in this year's budget. I have no doubt this is made even more difficult by the total disregard of the Tory government for local councils and local governance. They keep talking about narrowing the North-South divide, but I am afraid it is unlikely that we see any meaningful difference under a Conservative Government.
The people of Newcastle expect this council to be the guardian of the local services in face of a callous Tory Government, but sadly what this budget offers is far from that. It is not unreasonable to expect this council to have a budget that offers the city a much-needed boost in leisure facilities but unfortunately, we are seeing the exact opposite. The Labour administration is closing West Denton pool without offering an adequate alternative. Even if the proposed new facilities open, it will leave the local people without a pool for several years and without any guarantees that the new pool will be of the same standards. Labour's 2019 General Election Manifesto committed to stopping outsourcing and specifically mentions bringing leisure facilities back in house, therefore I would have expected this administration to work closely with the voluntary and charity sector to offer the best solution to tackle health inequalities in the city, but these hard -working charities are very dismayed with the way that the running of leisure facilities in the city is handed out to external contractors which do not put the people first.
This administration has proposed sudden axing of funding for public health programmes that promote physical activity and healthy food. Lack of notice for organisation that provide these programmes leaves them in a very difficult position and it makes the council weaker in our battle against health inequalities in Newcastle.
This budget does not offer any explanation on how our park and nature reserves are going to be maintained and looked after either through the City Council or Urban Green Newcastle.
There has been no action on Kingston Park Green or Havannah Nature Reserve. These sites are that offer our residents much needed green space, suffer from chronic neglect and lack of maintenance.
Finally, Lord Mayor, Culture events play a vital role in regeneration of the City, Post-Pandemic but I really think this administration has missed the point. What they are offering is woefully inadequate. I would urge the Labour Administration to carefully examine how culture investment fund is allocated to have the maximum possible impact.