Telford & Wrekin Council to consult on budget proposals
Telford & Wrekin Council will undertake widespread consultation on a range of budget proposals as part of its preparation for spending choices in the next two years.
The Council’s new administration has also promised a review of the Council’s existing 2011/12 budget programme with initial proposals to be announced at the cabinet meeting to be held on 26 July.
The special 100 day budget and any changes in budget strategy proposed by the Council’s new administration will target reducing previously planned levels of debt to help ease the pressure of savings that the Council must find this year.
Key to this will be the Council’s commitment not to build new Civic Offices at the Southwater site as the previous administration had planned.
One of the changes already announced is that the Council will reintroduce free swimming for children under 16 at borough pools from the start of the school summer holidays next month.
A report to the Council’s cabinet shows that in the last financial year, despite unprecedented in-year cuts in Government grants of more than £3 million, the Council’s £421 million annual budget was underspent by £83,000.
This was despite a very challenging year caused by cuts in Government funding, pressures due to the recession reducing income for some Council services and properties it rents.
The budget out-turn figures for 2010/11 show that £3.9m has been put aside for redundancy costs, the vast majority of which have been voluntary. These will help generate the Council’s £15m target for savings in staff costs.
The report also shows that the Council underspent by £18 million on its capital programme for 2010/11, caused in the main by the Government’s review of the Building Schools for the Future programme and delays to building schemes because of the harsh winter. The delay will help reduce debt costs which can help to fund services.
Cllr Bill McClements, cabinet member for Resources and Service Delivery, said: “Last year was a very difficult year for councils and it is a credit to the council's officers to have delivered this budget in spite of unprecedented and unfair Government cuts.
“However with a further £20m of savings having to be found next year, we will face some very difficult and hard choices.
“Work is well underway on our emergency budget which will come later this summer. Residents can already see that through initiatives such as reinstating free swimming for under 16s how we will make a difference and that it doesn’t have to be just about cuts. We have tough choices to make but by working with communities there are ways we can protect many services by taking a very different approach.
“We want to be a co-operative council and part of this means working together with every part of the community to get their views on the Council’s longer term budget proposals throughout the coming months and the views of the community will be vital in shaping this.
"We have already secured a meeting with Secretary of State for local Government Eric Pickles and we are hopeful that we will get cross party support to challenge the Government on the unfair way it calculates the grant settlement the borough receives."
The report will be considered by the Council’s cabinet meeting on June 21.
