South Gloucestershire Council will be able to balance its budget for the next two years by continuing to make more efficiencies and using\u202fits\u202freserves.\u00a0Despite the financial\u00a0difficulties facing the\u00a0authority,\u00a0there will also be\u00a0continued investment in\u00a0the council\u2019s\u00a0priorities,\u00a0but leaders\u00a0were\u00a0clear about the ongoing and significant pressures facing local government and the need for longer-term solutions to avoid further cuts to services.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Full Council will consider and set its budget for 2026\/27 at the meeting on 11 February, based on the latest information from government and feedback provided by residents through the consultation last year.<\/p>\n
Councils across the country continue to face rising demand for statutory services, with costs increasing faster than inflation, faster than government funding, and faster than it is reasonable or sustainable to raise council tax. Increasing numbers of children, families and older residents need care and support, while the cost of\u00a0maintaining\u00a0roads and other infrastructure continues to rise as materials become more expensive and extreme weather conditions place greater strain on ageing assets.<\/p>\n
To balance the budget, the council is taking a responsible and planned approach, using its reserves alongside making further efficiencies, changing the way that some services are delivered, and longer-term financial planning.<\/p>\n
Local people were invited to comment on the draft budget last autumn and many expressed frustrations\u00a0that the burden of meeting increasing costs was being passed to householders through council tax. However,\u00a0even where\u00a0the latest\u00a0Government\u00a0grants to councils have\u00a0increased, they\u00a0have\u00a0not addressed the underlying budget gap for most, including South Gloucestershire, and\u00a0Westminster\u00a0forecasts on council spending power assume that all local authorities will continue to raise council taxes by 4.99 per cent each year.<\/p>\n
Feedback from residents during the budget consultation has directly influenced proposals.\u00a0Following\u00a0strong support\u00a0from residents,\u00a0the council will continue to invest in occupational therapy and related support services that help older and disabled residents adapt their homes and live independently for as long as possible.\u00a0Changes\u00a0will\u00a0focus on updating charges and delivery\u00a0models,\u00a0so these services\u00a0remain\u00a0sustainable in the long term, after many years in which costs have been kept artificially low.<\/p>\n
Despite the difficult financial context, the draft budget includes targeted investment where it can make the greatest difference.<\/p>\n
We heard from hard working families who are struggling with day to day living costs and have recognised that we need to do more to help those who are trying so hard to help deliver a better future for their children. Therefore,\u00a0we will continue\u00a0to\u00a0support families feed their children during school holidays, initially through to the end of the next summer break.<\/p>\n
We will continue to invest in South Gloucestershire as a place.\u00a0We have invested record levels in improving our travel infrastructure, leading nationally in the delivery of homes for social rent, and continue to have excellent recycling rates thanks to the efforts of residents, supported by our new waste contract.<\/p>\n
The council has also opened three new children\u2019s homes in the district over the past year, improving outcomes for young people in care,\u00a0while reducing reliance on expensive out-of-area placements. Continued investment is being made in schools, including expanding special school provision so more children can be educated closer to home.<\/p>\n
South Gloucestershire Council Leader, Cllr Maggie Tyrrell, said: \u201cI am pleased that we can present a balanced budget,\u00a0thanks to the commitment and dedication of the public servants who work for the council who do so much for local people. I am also pleased that we\u00a0will be able to make investments and prioritise spending\u00a0according\u00a0to our priorities and that will continue to help local people.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo\u00a0allow us to do\u00a0this, we will use our reserves; we will need to increase council tax in the way government has assumed when they set the amounts they give us; and we will need to increase our fees and charges so that people using services\u00a0that are not free\u00a0are\u00a0covering the cost of delivering them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are positives in this\u00a0budget,\u00a0and we are able to make some of the investments we\u2019d like to, including to support families to feed their children during the school holidays, for\u00a0example,\u00a0as well as using our powers in planning to increase the supply of affordable\u00a0homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn\u00a0difficult times\u00a0we have been able to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0that we will invest where we can,\u00a0to make local people\u2019s lives better. In the past year, for example, we have set up three new children\u2019s homes in the area, to give the young people in our care better support locally in ways that also save us money.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Gloucestershire Council Co-Leader, Cllr Ian Boulton, said:\u00a0\u201cWe welcome greater certainty from government about funding over the next three years, as it allows councils to plan more effectively. However, it also makes clear that the funding available still falls short of what is needed to continue delivering everything residents expect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know people feel they are paying more and receiving less, but council tax is not a payment for a single service. It is what allows us to provide a universal safety net, from care for vulnerable residents to collecting bins and maintaining roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the challenges, this joint administration is making a positive difference, including building and improving schools and expanding specialist provision so more children can get the support they need locally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Gloucestershire Council will be able to balance its budget for the next two years by continuing to make more efficiencies and using\u202fits\u202freserves.\u00a0Despite the financial\u00a0difficulties facing the\u00a0authority,\u00a0there will also be\u00a0continued investment in\u00a0the council\u2019s\u00a0priorities,\u00a0but leaders\u00a0were\u00a0clear about the ongoing and significant pressures facing local government and the need for longer-term solutions to avoid further cuts to services. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2680],"tags":[1201],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26060"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26061,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26060\/revisions\/26061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.southglos.gov.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}