A presentation will be given at the meeting.
Minutes:
Cllr Rishi Shori, Deputy Leader of the Council and Steve Kenyon, Assistant Director of Resources & Regulation (Finance), gave a presentation detailing the key financial issues facing the Authority and subsequent efficiency savings to be made for Bury Council’s 2015/16 budget.
The following key facts were presented:-
· For 2015/16, £16 million will be cut from budgets. This equates to a loss of £54 m (50%) of the budget in 5 years.
· This means the Council will need to prioritise key services at a time when residents’ needs and expectations are changing and demand for services is increasing.
· In order to do this the Council are exploring alternative ways of delivering services and reviewing organisational structures.
· For 2015/16 the Council have received only 1 year’s funding settlement information from the Government, which has yet to be confirmed.
· The Council’s core funding from Government is likely to be cut by 13% (to be confirmed).
· The Council will also face cuts to a number of grants received from the Government, for example Early Intervention and Education Services grants. This is in addition to pressures from levies from other bodies and uncertainty following the localisation of Business Rates.
The meeting was informed of the following key measures to address the cuts:-
· Alternative Service Delivery Models - £3.420m
· Third Sector - £0.200m
· Income Generations - £2.012m
· Better use of External Funding - £3.376m
· Savings from the way the Council buys things - £1.320m
· Managing Assets - £0.726m
· T & C’s, Restructuring and vacant posts - £3.229m
· Improved Recycling - £0.862m
· Reduction in provision of services - £0.662m
Bury Residents were being informed of the financial issues facing the Authority as part of a consultation process for the 2015/16 budget and were being asked to consider changing expectations about service delivery; working more closely with individuals and communities to deliver services ie. volunteering/self management; a stronger focus on demand reduction such as self care/early intervention/personal responsibility; examining alternative ways of delivering remaining Council services and changing the way residents access services – “digital by default”.
In terms of the next steps, it was reported that from 6 November 2014 to 9 January 2015 the Council will be consulting residents and stakeholders on the package of cuts needed for 2015/16. This will be followed by a review of the consultation feedback which will be fed into the budget setting process for 2015/16. The Council will debate the 2015/16 budget and formally approve a package of cuts. Residents were informed of the various ways they can contact the consultation team and leave comments by 9 January 2015.
Questions and comments were invited and the following issues were raised:
· Paul Gerrard and Geoff Brown asked when the Council would stop making unsustainable cuts to services that were being forced on them as result of the Governments’ austerity programme. The Deputy Leader explained the necessity to set a legal budget and referred to the Fair Deal for Bury campaign which seeks to lobby for a fairer share of Government funding for Bury. With the reduced funding and budgets the Council are looking to protect the most vulnerable.
· In response to a question from Donal O’Hanlon it was reported that views from previous consultations had changed budget proposals, often through amendments submitted at the Budget Council meeting.
· David Stanley highlighted the need for the Council to meet with the voluntary and community groups to plan for how services can be
delivered differently in the future.
· In response to a question form Peter Thomson concerning safeguarding children, Councillor Campbell stated that this was a priority area for the Council and referred to the investments made to set up a Child Sexual Exploitation service and Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub.
· In response to a question from Yvonne O’Malley, the Deputy Leader reported that although central government funding was currently set for 2015/16, early estimates suggest indicative savings of £16m would be needed for 2016/17.
It was agreed:
That the information provided be noted and Councillor Shori and Steve Kenyon be thanked for their presentation.