CUMBERLAND Council has agreed a proposed budget for the next financial year, which sees continued investment in services and local communities despite a challenging financial situation.
Members of the council’s Executive committee met in Carlisle today (17 February) to consider and agree budget proposals before they go to the Council meeting on 3 March.
The budget includes £371m for the day-to-day spending of the council to pay for essential services such as waste collections and disposal, road repairs, public health, childrens and adult social care, and leisure services. There is also some £280m on investment spending into the council’s buildings and local communities. Much of this capital investment is in part designed to reduce costs in the longer term.
The budget agreement comes against a backdrop of many years of cuts to government grants for local councils, which has meant savings and an ever-greater reliance on council tax to fund services for local people.
Currently, 50% of the day-to-day spending by the council is funded by Council Tax. By 2029/30 this is predicted to rise to 59%, after a 9.4% or £16.5m drop in government spending.
The council has developed a Transformation Plan to meet these challenges and ensure it is more financially sustainable in the longer term. As a result, the budget includes some £32m in savings and increases in income in the next financial year.
The proposals also include a rise of 2.99% in the core council tax element of the bill for Cumberland Council services and a 2% rise in the Adult Social Care precept. Overall, this 4.99% increase will mean a rise to a Band D council tax bill of £1.83 a week. As most properties are rated in bands A to C, any agreed rise for most residents will be lower – for Band A properties it will be £1.22 a week.
As part of the council’s responsibility to set a lawful and deliverable budget, growing pressures within Children’s Services due to rising levels of need were highlighted. The Director of Children and Family Wellbeing formally asked that the council review whether the resources in the budget remain sufficient to meet statutory duties safely. The council’s Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer) made a statement to confirm that these risks were identified within the budget report, and that further work would be done to assess whether recommendations need to be brought forward to ensure the final budget remains robust and sustainable.
Speaking on the budget, Cllr Barbara Cannon, Executive member with responsibility for finance and assets, said: “Our financial situation remains challenging as demand for some services continues to rise at a rate faster than funding. Council tax provides the lion’s share of our funding, and this will only increase over the next three years. Therefore, any decision not to increase council tax, even if just by inflation, would have a major impact on our ability to deliver services in the future.
“Our transformation plan has already delivered tens of millions in savings and has allowed us to invest in our services in a way that will deliver better outcomes for our residents in the coming years. This plan, which has also put us on a more financially sustainable footing, will continue. Over our first few years we have also invested millions into our communities and this capital investment will continue in the coming year, and will see some £280m spent on our services, our assets and infrastructure and our city, towns and villages for the benefit of everyone.
“This investment includes funding on the priorities of our residents with millions spent on our roads and infrastructure, as well as money for schools, and on regeneration projects from Carlisle to Millom.
“We are very aware of the implications of increasing council tax given the ongoing cost of living issues for local residents. This is why we offer a very generous Council Tax Reduction Scheme which costs around £22m a year, and can help reduce the bill of those on low incomes. I'd encourage anyone who thinks they are eligible but has yet to apply to contact us.”
The council’s capital programme includes investment in bus services and road and port infrastructure in Cumberland. There is also £5.9m to be spent on Disabled Facilities Grants to enable people to remain in their home for longer, nearly £12m into schools alongside a further £2.5m for additional classroom space at Mayfield School and Branthwaite Academy. The budget includes some £10m to be spent on improving the areas childrens’ homes.
Across Cumberland £21.6m is earmarked for the Carlisle Station Gateway project, £23.5m on the Industrial Solutions Hub project in Cleator Moor, and £14m and £16.8m on regeneration schemes in Workington and Millom respectively.
Details of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme can be found on the council’s website or by calling the customer solutions team.