Press release - 21 February 2018 22:17

Social care our top priority as council sets tax and budget

The needs of vulnerable people who need social care were prioritised by Bury Council when it set its budget and council tax tonight (Wed 21 Feb).

Nearly two-thirds of council expenditure is now being spent on providing care to adults and children in the community.

Councillors agreed to increase the basic level of council tax by 1.94%, plus a further 1% which is ring-fenced to meet the demands of children’s social care and to secure the future of the borough’s children’s centres. It will also support homelessness prevention and other welfare/hardship relief initiatives, and help young people to be ‘work ready’ through schemes such as pre-apprenticeship placements.

The council will also devolve more power to local communities by creating a new £600,000 fund for regeneration and neighbourhood working in each of the borough’s six townships.

It will also accelerate its £10 million investment in Bury’s roads by a further quarter of a million pounds this financial year.

Council house tenants will have their rents reduced by 1%, and £29 million will be spent on maintaining their houses over the next three years.

The budget will also mean cuts of £18.5 million over the next two years, on top of the £78 million of cuts made since 2010.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, cabinet member for finance and housing, said: ““Support for the most vulnerable people in our society remains at the heart of our priorities, but the huge and increasing demands for social care accounts for an ever-increasing proportion of our expenditure.

“Nearly a decade of cuts means that we have to find new ways of working, becoming an enabler rather than a provider of services. That’s why it’s essential to developing stronger neighbourhood partnerships, empowering our communities and residents to self-help where possible and improve the overall quality of life.

“I’m pleased to announce that we have allocateda further £200,000 towards delivering our anti-poverty strategy, which includes a focus on homelessness prevention and preparation for the rollout of Universal Credit.”

On top of the basic council tax rise of 2.94%, bills will increase by a further 3% under the Government’s adult social care ‘levy’. Bills will also include payments to the Police (which are increasing by £12) and the Greater Manchester Mayor’s office and the fire service (up by £8).

More than half of the 80,000 properties in Bury are in Band A and Band B, and the total council tax rise will equate to £1.34 a week for a Band A householder or £1.56 for those in Band B.

Cllr Rishi Shori, leader of the council, said: “Despite this never-ending era of austerity, we will continue to invest in the regeneration of all our townships, and give our neighbourhoods more say in local matters.

“This is why we will devolve power to our communities and create a new £600,000 Social Capital Fund, making £100,000 available to each of our six townships and allowing local communities to make decisions as to how this money is spent to improve their local areas, including facing challenges such as social isolation.

“We also need to invest in our young people to make sure they have the best start in their lives and careers. I’m proud, therefore, to invest a further half a million pounds in protecting services for children, including protecting our remaining children’s centres. And we will create a new pre-apprenticeship programme for 13 and 14 year-olds, engaging them with local businesses and giving them early experience of the world of work and the chance to apply what they are learning at school. This is line with the recommendations of the Bury Life Chances Commission that reported last year: https://tinyurl.com/y8x2fk55

“We will continue to improve our environment, and enable more of our residents to afford their own home.

“We will also fight for Bury to receive its fair share of funding devolved to the Mayor and Greater Manchester, especially regarding the huge changes that are now under way in health and social care budgets.”

Budget facts:

Council Tax – around 86% of the council tax bill is what residents pay for Bury Council services; the remaining 14% goes towards the Police and the GM Mayor/Fire services.

Priorities – around 80.4% of the council tax is spent in four priority areas: older people, children’s services, waste collection/disposal, and public transport.

Staffing – the council has lost nearly 1,000 jobs since 2010, many in management roles.

The cost of social care - in 2017/18, the amount of Council Tax received by Bury Council was £74 million. In the same year, the council spent £73 million on adult and children’s social care. The cost of care packages has nearly doubled since 2010, due to inflationary pressures and the increased complexity of people’s needs.

Bury’s external funding - Bury receives £241 per resident in external funding. The average for English councils is £282 per head, and the average for Greater Manchester districts is £329. If Bury was funded at England or GM levels, we would have an extra £7.8 million or £16.5 million respectively.

Where does the council spend its money?

The council delivers more than 150 different services to a population of around 187,500 people (living in approximately 80,000 households).

Every £ we spend is split as follows: