Southampton City Council is consulting over new budget proposals to enable it to save £42.3 million in the face of what it says are continuing cuts to its funding from government.
The consultation asks the views of residents, partners and businesses on council proposals designed to deliver a balanced budget in the face of what's described as “ever-reducing government funding and increasing demand for some services”.
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The council says it’s already made £92.4 million in savings over the last five years, and by 2020/21 it has to find another £42.3 million because its government grant funding will be reduced by 55%, and phased out by 2019/20.
At the same time it says the demand for council services – particularly those for vulnerable children and adults – continues to increase each year.
Government funding reductions
Councillor Mark Chaloner, Southampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “The council continues to face a huge financial challenge, and once again we need to make significant savings in the next budget. As we have already saved £92.4million in the last five years, decisions around reducing costs even further are now considerably more difficult.
“Our financial situation is a direct result of reductions in government funding – our budget will have been cut by a total of 55% by 2019-20, while demand for some of the council’s most costly services continues to rise.”
There’s more information and a link to a questionnaire about the proposals, on this Southampton City Council web page.
The deadline for submitting questionnaires is Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
A final set of proposals will be presented to Cabinet on Tuesday, February 14, 2017, and to Full Council on Wednesday February 15 for a final decision.