Leicestershire County Council has agreed to save £26.7 million next year and increase its share of Council Tax by 3.99 per cent.
Today’s (February 17) full council meeting approved plans to save £78.3 million over the next four years – but still has to identify £19.5 million of that.
We have got to get on and save £78 million, on top of the £130 million we have saved since 2010 - and it won't be easy. I welcome the Government's announcement of a funding review and our finance team is working up proposals for a new system, to put before ministers."
Person:Deputy council leader, Councillor Byron Rhodes
Since the budget proposals were unveiled last month, the Government announced the county council would receive £3.3 million of transitional funding for each of the next two years.
This funding will not affect the council’s overall savings targets but will be used to:
- Fund highways maintenance in 2016/17 (£3 million), including critical resurfacing and strengthening schemes, preventative maintenance and streetlighting column replacement work
- Support additional demand and cost pressures for special educational needs transport (£300,000)
- Reduce savings from the stop smoking service (£100,000)
- Maintain the “tell us once” service, which enables bereaved people to inform all local and national agencies at the same time, when they register a death (£30,000)
- Close a funding gap in the budget in 2017/18
Key headlines for the next four years include:
• Total savings of £78.3 million will be required, including £26.7 million from April. The council has only identified £58.8 million, leaving £19.5 million still to be found. Identified savings include proposed cuts to bus subsidies, waste sites and public health work
• Efficiency savings of £27 million, including reductions in management and administration (£3 million) and better commissioning and procurement (£9 million)
• Growth of £41.4 million to meet rising demand, including adult social care (£23 million), children’s social care (£8.9 million) and waste (£2.4 million)
• Council Tax rises of 3.99 per cent per year, including a two per cent precept to support adult social care, which was introduced by the Government. The two per cent will not cover the council’s full costs for adult social care. Of those who responded to the council’s public consultation, 60 per cent supported a two per cent precept for adult social care and more than half supported a total rise of four per cent or more.
• An estimated 500 full-time equivalent posts will go – 900 have gone over the last five years
Background:
The full budget report is available here. The council has saved £103 million over the last five year Parliament and is predicting it will have to save £110 million during this Parliament.
Government funding:
The council’s revenue support grant from the Government will fall from £56 million in 2015/16 to zero in 2019/20. The Government has stated that grants will be replaced by local control of business rate income but there is no clarity yet as to how that will affect the county council – and the Government has announced it will cut £2 million from the county’s business rates in 2019/20. Under the Government’s estimate of councils’ “spending power”, by 2019/20 Leicestershire will be £13 million per year worse off than neighbouring Northamptonshire, £55 million worse off than Oxfordshire and £163 million worse off than Islington.
Budget:
Following the announcement of the transition grant, the council’s provisional budget for 2016/17 is now £345.3 million.
Council Tax:
A proposed rise of 3.99 per cent would increase the county council’s share of band D bills by £43.25 to £1,127.40 per year from April.
Four year savings, by department:
• Children and families: £8.8 million, including £1.4 million from remodelling early help services
• Adults and communities: £18.6 million, including £3.3 million from reviewing external contracts
• Public health: £3.6 million, including £1 million from stop smoking services – with more to follow when Government grant cuts are confirmed
• Environment and transport: £17 million, including £2 million from bus subsidies
• Chief executive’s: £2 million, including £300,000 from economic development funding to agencies
• Corporate resources: £8.4 million, including £2.4 million from property
The capital programme:
The capital programme pays for buildings, roads and equipment and is separate to the council’s main (revenue) budget. It is funded by Government grants for schools, roads and transport, land and property sales and the council’s earmarked funds. The council is proposing to spend £206 million on capital projects over the next four years, including work on schools and road schemes.