CLAIMS from the Labour opposition that Hillingdon Council is on the brink of bankruptcy have been strongly refuted by Conservative leader Cllr Ian Edwards.

“Labour’s comment about our financial security is barely worth a response,” he said.

“Our draft budget is published for all to review and shows our financial position is the envy of many councils across London and the country as a whole.”

Labour’s spokesperson Cllr Kerri Prince claims the council is trying to get a Government bail-out to avoid bankruptcy.

She says a cumulative deficit of £38m by the end of March in the high needs education budget is more than the council has in general reserves.

Cllr Prince blames the position primarily on a failure to create enough special needs school places while creating too many primary school places the borough doesn’t need.

Cllr Edwards responded: “Residents should be asking themselves if it is their child’s school that a Labour administration wouldn’t have invested in.

“We believe in raising the standards of our schools and it is clear, from Labour’s statement, that the education of Hillingdon’s young people is safer with this administration. 

“In May, residents will have a choice between continued sound financial management with Hillingdon Conservatives or the reckless spending of Labour.”

Cllr Prince, who is Labour's lead on Families, Health and Wellbeing, said: "This Conservative administration has crowed about 'sound financial management' for years, but now the truth is out.

"The Conservatives have run the finances into the ground through ignoring the problems in the schools budget.”