OPPOSITION parties have welcomed the news that Bolton’s school crossing patrols will be saved under new budget plans, but say the council could be doing more with its money.

It was revealed on Monday that proposals to cut £200,000 from the service are to be abandoned by Bolton Council, as a result of a £1.7 million reduction in waste disposal costs due to the introduction of slim bins.

The council also announced plans to raise council tax by 4.8 per cent, as well as other initiatives including the refurbishment of Westhoughton Town Hall and the continuation of Safe, Warm and Dry schemes to improve living conditions.

However, UKIP group leader Cllr Sean Hornby believes more could have been done, given the size of the council’s cash reserves.

He said: “The public do not understand and see no justification for keeping the council reserves at such a high level, a level which puts Bolton’s reserves within the top three authorities in Greater Manchester and which is even higher than Manchester City Council itself.

“While welcoming some of the proposed alterations to the budget, including the scrapping of its decision to get rid of school crossing patrols and introduce more for our most vulnerable, I believe this council could have done a lot more.

“Our roads are crumbling, our footpaths are unwalkable in places. Our streets are dirty in many areas. Dog fouling across this borough is a major problem. We have an enforcement team which hardly enforce.”

Cllr Hornby added that UKIP will support the three per cent council tax precept for adult social care, but want to ensure it is used for front line services which are “at breaking point”.

Bolton Council is proposing to introduce the maximum council tax increase to fund adult social care, which was raised by the government in December, in addition to a 1.8 per cent general increase.

Cllr Roger Hayes, Bolton Liberal Democrats leader, said: “I’m delighted that the Labour group has shown some sense in withdrawing the proposals around cutting the school crossing patrols.

“With the Westhoughton Town Hall refurbishment, you could argue that there is a need for that now because the council has allowed it to slip into such a poor state over the years.

“We will look at what the council has said, but I think there is probably more money available from the council’s reserves than they let on.

“On the Adult Social Care precept, I think that should be a national issue rather than something that local councils have to deal with. Everyone has known for many years that this problem was coming up and it is going to be very, very expensive.”