Residents are being reminded that there is still time to take part in the budget consultation process that will help shape the spending plans for the council for next year.
The consultation is open until January 8, and more than 1,000 people have already had their say.
The survey includes lots of background information that describes the council’s current financial position and outlines some of the decisions that will need to be faced in order to balance the books into the future.
Although the council is expected to balance the books this year and next year, in future years this is expected to become increasingly difficult.
The amount the council has needed to spend to deliver its existing services has increased by more than 56 per cent since 2017/18. This has been driven by significant cost increases for things like:
• Fuel, heating and electricity
• The increasing complexity of some people’s social care needs, which require more specialist and one-to-one support
• The increasing cost of raw materials to repair roads and for building maintenance
• Increasing fees for residential, nursing and home care.
There have also been significant increases in the demand for many council services, driven by factors such as an aging population and by high levels of child poverty, due to the cost-of-living crisis. The impact of climate change means that both individuals and our infrastructure need more attention and support. Other examples of cost pressures include:
• Requests for environmental health services, dealing with noise and pests, etc, have risen by 43 per cent in the past 10 years
• Over the past three years, the number of hours of social care support the council has been required to provide has risen by 23 per cent
• Since 2019/20, the number of children with an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) has risen by 30 per cent.
Overwhelmingly, these are statutory services that the council is required by law to provide.
At the same time, funding for the council from central government has fallen by 75 per cent since 2010.
So in order to keep legal and balanced budgets, the council will need to make some difficult decisions about whether it can keep delivering all the services it does now, and how it can deliver them as cost-effectively as possible. It will also need to look at raising fees and charges, as well as Council Tax.
The consultation survey gives background information on all of these factors and more and invites local people to share their views on the priorities and approaches they want to see the council adopt.
South Gloucestershire Council Leader, councillor Maggie Tyrrell, encouraged all local people to take part in the process so that councillors can consider their views when they make decisions for next year and beyond.
She said: “Every day, South Gloucestershire Council staff are out and about in our communities working to deliver a fairer, greener future for local people. We have seen them working incredibly hard over the past few weeks to help manage the severe weather and flooding that has hit the area as well.
“South Gloucestershire Council provides all local government services to our residents and businesses, including collecting and disposing of waste and recycling, schools support, social care for adults and children, housing and business support.
“Unfortunately, as is the case for councils up and down the country, the rapidly increasing demand for our most expensive support, the rising costs of delivering services, and the year-on-year cuts to central government funding have put unsustainable pressure on our finances.
“We know that puts us in a difficult situation and that we face difficult decisions ahead. We want to be open and honest with you, there are no longer any ‘easy’ savings to be made. The difficult decisions we’re talking about will mean pain for local people, for our staff and for the partners we work with.
“In this consultation process we are setting out the approach and some of the options we think we will need to follow to remain financially sustainable, and we are keen to hear your feedback. We need people to take part and let us know their views so that they can be part of the decision-making process about their council and their services.”
People can find out more by visiting the council website: https://budget2025.commonplace.is. For those who are not online, paper copies of the survey will be available at South Gloucestershire libraries or One Stop Shops.
Following the consultation, the views put forward will be fed into a comprehensive report, which will be considered alongside updated financial information to help inform decision-making.
Final decisions and budget setting will take place at Full Council on 19 February 2025.
