How £5.8m of cuts will affect lives in Bridgend next year
Schools, social care, lifeguards... it’s a lengthy list:
BRIDGEND council is axing £5.8m from its spending this year, with services across the board expected to take their share of the cuts.
A range of money-saving measures was approved when a majority of councillors passed the budget for 2017-18. The £258m budget also includes a council tax rise of 2.9% – meaning the average bill will go up by £37 a year or 72p a week from April.
The biggest and most controversial of the budget reductions will see all schools across the county required to shave 1% from their budget – a total of £869,000 – in 2017-18.
Bridgend County Borough Council is also providing schools with extra money to help them meet the cost of nationally agreed pay awards.
Nevertheless, teachers and councillors outside the ruling Labour group have already warned the 1% reduction, which will also apply every year for the next four years – a total cut to the education budget of £3.4m – could lead to significant teacher job losses.
A scrutiny committee heard that as schools strug- gle with budget deficits, 40 primary school teachers might have to be made redundant to balance the books over the next four years.
The council’s own report also states that larger comprehensives could lose five teachers over the next four years.
Welsh Conservative Re- gional AM Suzy Davies said: “Their decision will have huge ramifications for education in the borough and affect every school child. Bridgend is already 21st out of 22 councils in Wales for spending on schools and, bearing in mind additional requirements coming from the Assembly, taking another
£3.4m out of the schools budget will likely make it the worst local authority in Wales for education spending. This decision makes a mockery of the concept of scrutiny and exposes the lack of democratic accountability within this council.”
Bridgend council has also identified £79,000 of savings in the school catering service, which will be achieved through efficiencies and an across-theboard price rise of 10p per day – taking the cost from £2.10 to £2.20 for primary meals and £2.40 to £2.50 for secondary meals.
And the ongoing implementation of the new school transport policy, which means more children will lose free bus travel and will have to walk to school where it’s deemed safe, will save £28,000.
These services also face cuts this year: ■ Speech and language therapy (£75,000) – Service will be delegated to schools as in other areas like Cardiff, so the council will no longer have to manage it ■ Education psychology (£75,000) – Post of lead education psychologist would be cut. The council hopes to share with other councils ■ Social care (£150,000) – The council wants to reduce commissioned care packages by 6%. It wants to transform the social care system to help people use other resources and reduce the number of people requiring long-term support ■ Residential and respite care (£414,000) – Review of respite care provided to individuals ■ Looked-after children (£260,000) – Reducing the number of children in care by identifying children at risk earlier and providing alternative support ■ Learning disability day services (£120,000) –
Continued efficiencies and staff restructure ■ Delivering cultural services via Awen (£101,000) ■ Winter roads maintenance budget (£60,000) ■ Road marking maintenance (£10,000) ■ Tourism budget (£21,000) ■ Civil parking enforcement team (£50,000) ■ Lifeguard service (£60,000) – Changes to length of season and beach coverage ■ Community centres (£39,000) – Transfer of management to voluntary organisations ■ Adult community learning (£70,000) – Reduction of provision ■ Council tax and benefits services (£150,000) – Services will move online ■ Materials Recovery
and Energy Centre – MREC (£200,000) – Along with Neath Port Talbot council Bridgend hopes to procure a new operator for the recycling centre in Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea
■ Council staff (£140,000) – Proposal to reduce number of staff in human resources, communications and business support due to amalgamation of roles and services.
Bridgend council has also axed one corporate director post following the departure of Ness Young. Her former position, director of resources, has been deleted. As she left part way through last year, the full £120,000 saving will be achieved this year.
Plus, Bridgend council said it hopes to save £50,000 through what it describes as a “broad review” of car parking charges, including staff and elected member parking passes.
The budget report states: “Balance needs to be struck between increasing income to meet budget targets but not impacting adversely on town centre trade and footfall.”
Bridgend council estimates it must also save an extra £32.8m between now and 2021.
Future savings proposals include a reduction in litter picking and street cleaning, the shutting off and dimming of street lights, further reductions to public toilet provision, review of school crossing patrols and removal of subsidised bus services.
Council leader Huw David said: “To date, we have been able to deliver more than half of all savings from internal efficiencies and through things like increased partnership working, and we are continuing to do so through measures such as internal reviews or reducing the number of corporate director posts.
“But everyone needs to be absolutely realistic and accept that services will be affected right across the board for as long as local authorities continue to receive reduced funding. Bridgend is certainly not immune from this, and we estimate that a further £32.8m will need to be saved between now and 2021.”
But the 2017-18 budget does include £32.4m for capital investments in services related to education and support for families.
These include establishing new primary schools in Pencoed, Brynmenyn and for Bettws and Ysgol Cwm Garw, and providing modifications at a range of different schools that will help pupils with specific medical needs.
More than £27m will be invested during 2017-18 in initiatives such as establishing a large new re- cycling centre at Pyle, improving Porthcawl’s flood defences and clearing derelict land for potential development in the Llynfi Valley.
This money will also be used for services such as continuing to provide disabled facility grants, looking after and maintaining the highways network, strengthening bridges, replacing street lighting columns and more.
A further £3m will be invested in creating two all-new Extra Care facilities for people who are older or vulnerable. The modernisation programme for the Homecare service will continue, and the caretaker’s lodge at Heronsbridge will be adapted alongside Heron House to increase the range and availability of services for children with disabilities.
The 2017-18 budget will also see the creation of an all-new funding programme that will give councillors up to £5,000 funding each for carrying out specific improvement work within the wards that they represent.
Believed to be the first of its kind in Wales, the scheme allows neighbouring wards to pool funding and town and community councils will be able to get involved in identifying where the money can be spent for the benefit of the local community.