SALFORD CITY COUNCIL TO SET OUT ITS BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR 2021/22 AT FULL COUNCIL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY

Salford Council and City Mayor Paul Dennett will present its budget proposals for consideration during Wednesdays Full Council Meeting (Weds 24th Feb) and decisions will be made on increasing council tax by 1.99% and the adult social care precept by 2% after a challenging year.

Since 2010/11 Salford has seen a staggering £222 million stripped from the cities budget due to savage cuts which have had huge impacts on the city and the local services it provides. Impacts which the council has tried hard to limit as best it can.

The added burden of the Covid-19 Pandemic has not been kind and it is expected that it will continue to affect the councils budget for at least a further three years, adding more misery and uncertainty to an increasingly painful future.

In order to achieve a balanced budget position for 2021/22 the council had to address a £10.9m funding gap. This gap has been driven by the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and changes that have affected funding streams such as the New Homes Bonus.

The gap is to be covered by a combination of previously approved savings, use of non-recurring funds and reserves.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said:

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“In setting this year’s budget Salford City Council will have seen its budget cut by £222 million since 2010/11 as a consequence of cuts to the central government grant and un-funded budget pressures, with the Local Government Association (LGA) also highlighting that councils have seen a £15 billion cumulative cut in Whitehall grants since 2010.

“Government is once again forcing local authorities to use regressive forms of taxation to hopefully balance their budgets rather than restoring Whitehall grants, which have been stripped away since 2010/11. The other week we were informed that 12 councils in England are in rescue talks with the government over their finances, with the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) suggesting that 12 councils is probably the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of the precariousness of local government finances following 10 years of austerity and the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for councils up-and-down the country.

“In addition to this we have still seen no green paper from the government on proposals to hopefully resolve the social care funding crisis, despite it being promised back in March 2017, and now nearly four years on local authorities are being forced again to increase the adult social care precept to raise necessary finances to fund social care. It’s truly shocking that government hasn’t prioritised resolving the social care funding crisis, especially given the critical role that our care workers have played in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, with government seemingly favouring spending time and resources on further NHS reforms and planning reforms, rather than tackling the scourge of poverty pay amongst our country’s care workers.

“I’ve always been very clear, simply de-funding local government and passing the burden of funding services onto our residents, many of whom are themselves struggling is no way to fund local government and it certainly doesn’t demonstrate a commitment to re-balancing the economy and levelling-up, despite the government’s rhetoric!  Government should at least be fully compensating local authorities for the last 12 months and urgently resolve the social care funding crisis, nearly four years on from the government promising a green paper back in March 2017.

“Any decision we take to increase council tax we know will negatively affect the residents in our city, who have already sacrificed so much in the last twelve months. The government have once again failed to recognise the important role of local authorities and given us little choice, as we must continue to do all we can to protect services for the people of our city.”

 

Councillor Bill Hinds, Lead Member for Finance and Support Services said:

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“The COVID-19 pandemic has created additional pressures on council budgets up-and-down the country. It is only through the prudent financial decisions of politicians and officers, our use of reserves and the benefits of growth in the city that this year Salford City Council is not faced with more difficult choices.”

“Salford is ranked the 18th most deprived local authority in England according to the 2019 government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) with approximately 30% of the population living in areas classified as highly deprived. The City Council recently responded to the consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2021/22, as the government’s proposals were once again insufficient to address the needs of our residents, families and communities and the hardship faced by vulnerable people within the City. Similarly the Settlement for 2021/22 did not seek to reverse the scandalous budget reductions imposed during the period of Tory-Lib Dem and Tory government’s austerity, which has disproportionately impacted local government since 2010/11. Moreover, the recent central government Settlement for local government in 2021/22 has assumed a council tax bombshell for Councils in England to raise £1.9 billion from council tax payers in England, thereby shifting the burden yet again onto local council tax payers, with 87% of the projected additional core spending in 2021/22 coming from local council tax payers.

“The reluctance by government to recognise that their calculations have forced councils in England to increase council tax and precepts by burdening local council tax payers is abhorrent. Our deep concerns led to the passing of a Motion at Council in January 2021 highlighting our position and we have yet to receive a response from government. Despite our best efforts we have been given no alternative but to propose the increases in council tax and the adult social care precept to Budget Council.”

 

The Online meeting will be live steamed from 9:30am tomorrow morning (Weds 24th Feb) via the following link: https://salford.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/545921