£13M MORE TO GO
CITY IS PAYING THE PRICE FOR YEARS OF CUTS BY GOVERNMENT, SAYS LEADER
FRESH cuts are set to see council spending slashed by a further £13m, 40 workers sacked and residents forced to cough up more council tax.
By 2020 Newcastle City Council will have cut £282m in spending and is in the second year of a three-year programme which will shave £60m from spending.
For the second year in a row, council tax is set to be increased by 4.95% and the 40 job cuts will be sought through voluntary redundancies, but none of the proposals have yet been formally agreed.
Planning the budget for 2018/19, Newcastle City Council says it needs to save £13.3m because of ongoing Government grant cuts.
Council leader Nick Forbes said: “This is the seventh year of Government-imposed cuts and by 2020 the council will have faced cuts of £282m over a decade, which is the equivalent of 45% of the council’s overall budget.
“Only 18% of the council’s budget comes from council tax. That’s why we have had some very difficult decisions to make over the last few years.”
If plans are approved, council tax will rise by 1.95%, with an additional 3% rise in the social care precept which is used to pay for social care.
The rise would add £74.55 a year to an annual bill for a band-D property – that’s an extra £1.43 per week. It will add £49.70 for a band-A property – an extra 96p per week.
Coun Forbes said: “We have looked at every efficiency that we can find within the council. We have had swingeing cuts to senior management.
“We have also seen 2,500 job losses at the council over the last seven years.
“The council has to live within its means. I can reassure residents that we have looked at every penny we spend to make sure that it’s being spent in ways to improve the quality of life of people in Newcastle.
“Newcastle is one of the hardest-hit parts of the country for cuts.
“Although the Government talks about everybody taking their fair share of cuts and everybody bearing the burden, we have borne a much heavier burden than other councils in the South.” The 40 planned job cuts were an “inevitable consequence of cuts after cuts after cuts”, Coun Forbes added.
The council hopes to work with trade unions to carry out redundancies with many existing vacancies left unfilled to save potential job cuts.
In order to meet savings of £13.3m, the council has also proposed to:
Cut its contribution to Tyne and Wear Archives & Museums by £150,000;
Increase garden waste charges from £1 to £2 per collection;
Reduce its contribution to Newcastle Gateshead Initiative by £40,000;
Save £2.6m by developing new ways of caring for adults with complex needs.
However, the budget will ensure investment in the city with an ambitious £380m capital investment programme including the construction of 1,000 affordable new homes and major events such as the Great Exhibition of the North, which is expected to give a boost to the economy.
Coun Forbes added: “It’s really important that Newcastle is seen as a city which is on the up and is a great place to do business and to live and work.” Around £5m of the council’s reserves will be used to sustain services but the council argues that the limited source of funding cannot be used to make permanent savings. A consultation on the budget is now open to the public on the council’s website. Coun Forbes has invited Newcastle residents to get in touch with their own cost-saving ideas for next year. “Our choices are limited but if there are ways in which we can do things more efficiently we’re really keen to hear from people about their proposals. “The plan from the Conservative government was to shift the blame of cuts onto local councils. “I’m immensely proud that our residents saw through that and have a great deal of sympathy with the difficult decisions we have had to make. “Inevitably people are fed up with cuts but they also know it’s not the council’s fault; the blame lies with central government.” A post-consultation budget report with feedback will be presented to the Cabinet on February 19 for consideration. The council will then meet on March 7 to debate and set the budget.
Although the Government talks about everybody taking their fair share of cuts and everybody bearing the burden, we have borne a much heavier burden than other councils Nick Forbes