Managing the budget in County
Durham
Members of Durham County Council’s Cabinet will consider an
update on the authority’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) next week (January
16); including what impact the latest Government settlement has had on the council’s
budget plans.
They will also hear how complex changes to the way councils
are allocated Government funds mean Durham will have a significantly reduced
share of the central pot and they’ll learn what the public say about how the
authority is handling the large budget cuts it faces.
Early consideration of the local government settlement means
a revised overall budget reduction of nearly £190m between 2011 and 2017. More than £90m of that has already been saved
with work underway on a wide- range of other financial reviews. However,
members will be advised that precise planning continues to be difficult in
light of uncertainties surrounding funding for education and public health. In
addition the council has yet to identify savings of nearly £53m which will be
necessary between the years 2014/2017.
Managing the budget available has meant many difficult
decisions have had to be made on what is affordable and some significant
changes have had to be introduced to save money while protecting, wherever
possible, frontline services.
Throughout this process speaking to residents to understand how
they have been affected by reductions or changes to services has been a key
element. Most recently members of the public
- via the councils 14 Area Action Partnerships, the Citizens’ Panel and
targeted questionnaires – were asked for their views on how they felt the
council had managed the spending cuts to date. 1,500 people responded and the
results reveal there is a high level of public satisfaction with how the authority
has managed a very difficult process so far. Included in the responses received
is the fact that some 40 per cent of people felt that the introduction of
Alternate Weekly Collections for refuse and recycling had had a positive impact
on them, with only 12 per cent reporting a negative impact. This change alone is
already saving the council over £2m a year.
When asked about managing future spending people said they
wanted regular consultation on key decisions to continue and to see the council’s
management and structure under continued review as well as consistent moves to
smarter ways of working.
Cllr Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “We
are making extremely tough decisions in very difficult financial times and it
is pleasing to see the public response is largely positive to the way we have
managed this situation so far.
“The uncertainties around some key budgets mean there may be
a need for further financial adjustment when we make our final budget decisions
in February but we have promised to continue our discussion with the public so
that we fully understand the impact these decisions have on our communities
“I would like to thank everyone who has helped us during
this process by taking part in the many consultations that have been necessary
and to say that we will continue to listen to their views moving forward.”
While last month’s settlement was broadly what the authority
had predicted, due to the uncertainties in some areas of funding nationally it
is possible that further revisions will need to be made.
However, Cabinet members will be asked to note the contents
of the report and the impact of the local government settlement on the council
when they meet at Crook Civic Centre next week.
A further report will be taken to Cabinet next month (February
6) before County Council approve the budget at a meeting
on February 20.
