Council wants public's views on budget cuts

Council wants public’s views on budget cuts

Salford residents are being asked what matters most to them as the council seeks ways to cut more than £13 million from its budget for 2019/20.

A statement on the Salford City Council website says that despite more favourable financial projections, cuts are still needed to balance the budget.

It states: “The council’s target has been £15.2 million. To balance the budget this needs to be covered by savings, cuts or income. This target has been reduced to £13.06 million as detailed financial projections have progressed.

“To reduce, as far as possible, the impact on front line services, the council has worked hard to identify ways to make one off savings, find alternative funding for some services, make further efficiencies in buying goods and services and increase income.”

The full budget can be found here, with Salford residents being encouraged to leave a comment and let the council know what they would like to see changed, as well as giving their views on the proposed cuts.

We have to save £15.2m to balance the 2019/20 budget. Local people have told us what matters most to them. You can now comment on the budget proposals at https://t.co/trfgGoFSDP The deadline for comments is 20 January 2019. pic.twitter.com/hDrcNuPiSe

— Shaping Our City (@ShapingSalford) December 27, 2018

One thing clear in the document outlining the cuts is the work that is being done to limit any major impact on public services. Below are the savings from the peoples directorate:

Proposal for reduction of management posts within Early Help with duties absorbed by other managers: £0.18m
Additional income from internal services: £0.07m
Alternative funding for Early Help family assessment team with no impact on service: £0.14m
Proposal to review skills and work contracts with related redesign of the supporting team, for services for young people, adults and families. Full engagement and consultation will be carried out with stakeholders to explore ways to achieve savings with the least impact possible on outcomes for residents: £0.97m
Closure of a children’s home that has been empty on a temporary basis since early 2018 as part of an overall redesign of residential care services: £0.52m
Reduction in costs from voluntary employee applications for severance with no further impact on services: £0.08m
The council and the NHS have integrated health and adult social care, leading to savings as a result of combined commissioning of services: £1.80m

The impact on the public has been widely considered, with integration with the NHS preferred over immediate cutbacks on services, as well as the closure of an empty children’s home, saving over half a million pounds.

Salford Green Party representative Bryan Blears explained on twitter how more can be done though, stating that a ‘large chunk of money’ was lost in the Aj Bell Stadium, home to our very own Salford Red Devils and Sale Sharks.

According to its 2017/18 accounts, @SalfordCouncil was paying £14.5m market loan interest – the equivalent of almost a year’s worth of savings cuts. A large chunk of that money has gone into the AJ Bell Stadium which, in 2017, was operating at a £1.4m loss. https://t.co/g2Zb9GWEN7

— Bryan Blears (@bryanblears) December 28, 2018