Chief Executive's
3 February 2012
Cabinet to finalise budget proposals
Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet is to finalise proposals to freeze Council Tax and save an extra £10 million from services over the next four years.
The council’s cabinet meets on February 10th to finalise its £345 million budget, in the light of public comments on proposals to:
• Freeze its share of Council Tax for the next four years, pegging the county council’s band D charge to £1,063 per year
• Save £74m over the next four years, in large part due to reduced Government grant and the loss of funding to academies
• Make £49m of these savings from efficiencies
• Save £24m from services, including public transport
Online consultation took place between January 17th and January 31st. An analysis of responses will be reported to the cabinet meeting on February 10th.
Nick Rushton, the council’s deputy leader, said: I’m determined that, by concentrating on efficiency savings, being very clear about our priorities and working with communities on new ways to deliver services, we can balance the books and freeze our share of Council Tax.”
Last year, the council agreed to save £79 million over four years and it is on track to save £24 million this year. However, due to extra pressures, it will have to save £74 million over the next four years.
An estimated 1,000 council posts will go over the next four years. Around 500 redundancies have been made over the last two years.
The need for savings reflects:
• a nearly 40 per cent reduction in Government funding over four years, including the impact of academies
• increased demand for key services, including social care for adults and children and waste disposal
Proposed areas for additional savings include:
• support for public transport
• libraries and museums
• reorganisation of the Children and Young People’s service, due to the development of academies.
Extra investment is also proposed in the following, priority services:
• support for vulnerable children
• support for vulnerable adults
• public health
• support for troubled families
The full county council meeting will take a final decision on the budget and Council Tax precept at 2.30pm on February 22nd.
Background:
The council’s latest savings amount to £98 million over five years.
The council has made great progress in making efficiency savings, including work to save £8 million from management and administration.
The national freeze on council staff’s pay will result in a real terms pay cut of 19 per cent over six years.
The latest financial plan is guided by the following principles:
• Planning spending within the resources available.
• Maximising the contribution from efficiency savings.
• Being clear about priorities in terms of growth and service reductions that are needed.
• Targeting scarce resources at those with greatest need.
• Achieving value for money for Council Tax payers.
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