Consultation launched on £32m budget cuts

Council leaders in Bury have launched a public consultation on plans to cut £32 million from services over the next three years (2017-20).

They have warned that another round of huge cuts will mean major changes in the way that services are delivered.

Savings have been identified across the authority, and residents are now being asked for their views. Consultation begins today (Thursday 8 Dec) and runs until 31 January 2017. The council will set the budget on 22 February 2017.

Councillor Rishi Shori, leader of Bury Council, said: “Since 2010, Bury’s central government support has been cut by around 40%. Coupled with increasing service pressures such as social care, this has meant £65m of cuts in the last six years. This represents 46% of what the council’s budget was in 2010.

“The bad news is that the trend is set to continue until at least the end of the current Parliament, with a further 24% reduction in our funding proposed, and continuing economic and demographic pressures.

“We estimate that Bury Council will have to make cuts of £32 million over the next three years in order to set a legal, balanced, and sustainable budget.”

Cllr Shori said Bury was unfairly funded, receiving just £294 per head of population compared to the England average of £342 and the Greater Manchester average of £391.

He said that, to provide certainty and stability, the council would set a three-year budget in February 2017, recognising that many major measures cannot be implemented in a single financial year.

Cllr Shori outlined three areas of major change:

Health and social care integration:

“Social care for adults and children is the largest service the council provides, accounting for up to 60% of the overall budget,” he said. “It is one of the most important services as it supports the most vulnerable people.

“But our population is growing, and there is an increasing number of elderly residents, often requiring support for long-term conditions.

“Pressures on services are increasing, at the same time as funding is reducing. This same pressure applies to public services across the borough, notably the NHS. It is therefore essential that agencies work together to address demand pressures within the context of reducing resources.

“We are working closely with the local Clinical Commissioning Group and local health providers, proposing that – from April 2017 – services are aligned to create a One Commissioning Organisation (OCO) and

a Local Care Organisation (LCO).”

Neighbourhood working:

“The council and its partners have a shared set of aims that we work towards; helping people to live healthy lives, have good job skills, live in a clean and safe environment, and enjoy a decent standard of living.

“But we cannot address these challenges alone; we need the support of our communities, with greater multi-agency working based in neighbourhoods.

“The council will increasingly become an enabler, rather than delivering the same services in the same way we have done previously.”

Devolution:

“Devolutionpresents a significant opportunity, with considerable powers and responsibilities devolved to the Greater Manchester region through an elected mayor. These include health and social care, economic growth, planning, transport, housing, skills/employment and justice.

“Bury Council plays an active role in all GM-wide activity, and the combined capacity of Greater Manchester will be critical to delivering efficiencies for councils and partner organisations.

“We will look to take advantage of the best that Greater Manchester devolution has to offer as it develops, while ensuring that Bury retains its local character.”

How to have your say

A consultation pack has been put together which includes details of where the council gets its money from, where it is spent, and the proposals to save money and change services over the next three years.

• All the documents can be read online at www.bury.gov.uk/Budget201720

• Comments should be emailed to: Budget201720@bury.gov.uk

• Call us on 0161 253 5696.

• Write to us at Budget201720, Bury Council, Knowsley Street, Bury, BL9 OSW to leave your comments or request a hard copy of the proposals.

Budget presentations will also be given at the next round of Township Forum meetings in the New Year:

• Radcliffe – 10 January 2017, 6pm, Radcliffe United Reformed Church
• Ramsbottom, Tottington and North Manor – 10 January 2016, 7pm Tottington Methodist Church
• Bury East – 12 January 2017, 7pm, Bury Town Hall
• Prestwich – 12 January 2017, 6.30pm, Longfield Suite
• Whitefield and Unsworth – 17 January 2017, 1pm, Elms Community Centre
• Bury West – 17 January 2017, 7pm, Elton Centre

Councillor Jane Lewis, cabinet member for finance, said: “Balancing our budget over the next three years will be incredibly difficult as a result of the Government’s cuts but we will do our very best to protect services, particularly those for vulnerable people.

“It was appalling that in the Autumn Statement the Government chose to ignore the warnings from right across the political spectrum that social care services are close to collapse and that an injection of funding was vital. Even NHS leaders said that the best way to help the NHS was to provide funding for social care, and yet there was nothing. Despite this we will focus our efforts on reforming services, on growing our income base and on helping people to help themselves.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 8 December 2016.

Note to editors:

1. The budget proposals for 2017-20 are to reduce expenditure by £32 million in the three council departments:

   Resource and Regulation - £7.3 million.

   Communities and Wellbeing – £17 million

   Children, Young People and Culture – £7.7 million.

2. In calculating these cuts, there is a working assumption that Council Tax will rise by 1.94% for each of the three years 2017/18 to 2019/20.

   In addition, it is assumed that the council will adopt the “Social Care Precept” to fund adult social care pressures; this represents a further 2%.

   Combined, a 3.94% per annum equates to an increase of £53 per year (roughly £1 per week) for an average “Band D” property.

Full details can be read at www.bury.gov.uk/Budget201720