A ROW over how much cash Derby City Council has in its reserves continued last night, with the authority's Labour leadership saying it has less in comparison to its overall budget than most other authorities.
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said recently that Derby had reserves of £81 million that could be used to lessen the affects of austerity on its services.
But the council's Labour leadership said this was "pure fantasy" and that its total amount of unallocated reserves was £18 million.
Councillor Sarah Russell, city council cabinet member for housing, finance and welfare, said all other reserves held were for managing "ongoing costs and financial risk" and could not be used for another purpose.
At last night's city council cabinet meeting, she continued the counter-attack, saying Derby has "nowhere near as much as some councils do in reserve". She said that some councils hold reserves worth the same amount as 40% of their annual budget.
Derby City Council, she said, holds 4.1% while the national average for all councils is 7.9%.
Miss Russell said: "We have to maintain decent levels of reserves to safeguard against budget pressures. Maybe they [Eric Pickles and David Cameron] should look a bit closer at their own funding decisions before starting to criticise hard-working local councils."
