Southampton City Council, which says council tax covers only 18% of its costs while its government grant has been reduced by around 67% over the last three years, is launching a consultation on its proposed budget for 2020/21 through to 2022/23, and wants to hear your views.

This from the council in their own words:

Councillor Stephen Barnes Andrews, Cabinet Member for Resources, comments:

“As Council Tax only covers 18% of our total council costs and the revenue support grant we receive from central government has reduced by around 67% over the last three years, the council relies on other sources of funding to enable us to deliver services at a time when demand for services continues to rise.

“Despite funding reductions, the council has made huge progress in closing the shortfalls in its budget over recent years, whilst continuing to deliver key services on which many local residents rely. Through previous budgets, we have made £151 million of savings in the last eight years by significantly changing the way we work in order to provide the best services possible. However, we cannot be complacent as we still need to save nearly £33m by 2022/23.  Through the ambitious proposals in this budget, we are aiming to reduce savings to £12m but we can only do this by hearing people’s views on our proposals.”

The proposals in the budget will deliver efficiencies and make savings, make bold investments in the areas which are important to the city – including adult social care - and in areas where the council can generate income, and support services to create a city of opportunity where everyone thrives.

Questionnaires need to be submitted by 7^thJanuary 2020. Online questionnaires can be completed at www.southampton.gov.uk/budget. The outcome from the questionnaire will be announced on 20 February.