Putting people and communities first in a budget for post-Covid prosperity

Thousands of parents will receive help to pay for school uniforms as part of council budget plans for the coming financial year.

And a special hardship fund will be set up under a range of measures designed to help families with the increasing cost of living.

These are just two initiatives agreed by councillors who met earlier tonight (Wed 23 Feb) to set the budget for 2022/23.

The meeting also heard that the council is making unprecedented investment into regenerating the borough’s town centres, while also investing in the ‘everyday’ services such as bins, potholes and children’s services.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, leader of Bury Council, said: “Whether you’re a individual, a local business or the council itself, everyone’s budget has taken a hammering during the pandemic.

“The continuing effects of the coronavirus lockdowns mean that the council is having to use £14m of reserves and make £5m in cuts and efficiency savings in order to balance the budget.

“This is why we’re determined to do what we can to help people through the tough times ahead, and also put in place major investment which will ensure our borough flourishes for generations to come.”

The budget for 2022/23 also includes provision for £10 million to improve highways and road safety, in the third phase of a £30m programme.

And £570,000 has been set aside to extend the provision of free school meals over the long summer holidays.

Cllr O’Brien added: “Along with the effects of ‘long Covid’, our budgets are under huge strain due to rises in demand for the most expensive services like social care, and a decade of chronic underfunding by the Government.

“However, it is imperative that we continue to invest in our people and our economy.

“This is why we’re making the biggest investment the council has ever made into regenerating our town centres, from Bury and Radcliffe to Ramsbottom and Prestwich. These are brave and ambitious plans, but they are essential to secure our future – we need thriving businesses and good jobs, enhanced skills and leisure, a quality environment and healthy and happy communities.

“And it’s also about ensuring that the daily tasks which everyone notices are done well. As well as the extra money for roads and potholes, we’re putting an additional £3m into improving our children’s services, and taking more people to court for fly-tipping.

“And, unlike other councils, we kept out bin services going throughout the whole pandemic, collecting an average of 120,000 bins every week of the year.

“This is a budget to sustain and improve our borough and its people, and look after all our futures.”

Among the new measures agreed by budget council tonight:

Cost of living support:

• £240,000 in grants to help 6,000+ parents buy school uniforms
• £100,000 in a new ‘cost of living’ support fund for those in need

Green measures

• £250,000 for a parks and green spaces fund, including planting a new wood in Bury for the Platinum Jubilee
• £10,000 into a community clean-up fund
• £20,000 to have ‘skip days’ in 12 areas blighted by fly-tipping

Culture

• £450,000 to help create a community stadium at the Gigg Lane ground, which has recently been bought by Bury football supporters
• £29,600 for a cultural programme including celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee

Public safety

• £80,000 to recruit new officers to tackle ant-social behaviour and domestic violence
• £40,000 to pay for extra CCTV cameras

Community support

• £51,000 for councillors to distribute to groups in their area
• £100,000 for local groups through The Pitch neighbourhood funding scheme

At tonight’s meeting, the council voted to increase the council tax by 1.94% for general council services, plus a 1% levy to be spent exclusively on social care.

Levies added by the Greater Manchester Mayor, police and fire services take the total bill increase to 3.6%. More than half of the 84,000 houses in Bury fall into the bottom two bands (A and B), so the increase for them equates to 92p a week for a Band A house and £1.07 a week for a Band B house.

Council house rents will increase by 4.1%, as will garage rents and sheltered management and amenity charges. Money raised from this can only be spent on social housing.