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Work starts on
2013/14 budget
WORK has started on the
2013/2014 budget, in which the City Council needs to find savings of
£32 million. A Budget Working Group; led by Mayor Joe
Anderson, and comprising Deputy Mayor Councillor Paul Brant,
Assistant Mayor Councillor Roz Gladden, Lib Dem Leader
Councillor
Richard Kemp and Liberal Leader Councillor Steve Radford; who is
now looking at budget savings put forward by senior officers.
Options are being, put forward in 3 tranches, to allow plenty of time
for the Mayor, Councillors and officers to discuss the proposals and
allow people to have their say through the budget consultation
process.
The 1st set, totalling around a 3rd of the gap (£11 million),
will be discussed at the Mayoral Select Committee on Wednesday, 24
October 2012, before going to the Cabinet on Friday, 26 October 2012. They will
be made available for staff and residents to view shortly.
Mayor Joe Anderson said:- "Every year, this gets tougher. We
have managed to save £141 million over the last 2 years. It was
incredibly hard but we did it, thanks to the hard work of our staff,
Councillors and partners. Over the next 4 years, we face a similar
problem. We've got to find £143million from a total spend of around
£480m. It's an immense challenge for us all and is unsustainable in
the longer term. We need to plan properly for the future with the
limited resource we know we will have available. That means finding
new ways of delivering and managing the services we provide."
In parallel with the budget process, Mayor Joe Anderson has tasked
the Chief Executive and his Management Team to develop a long term
plan to radically transform the way the Council operates, so we can
deliver better value services, at lower cost. "We
will consider very carefully all the options officers propose. Our
guiding principle will be to try and protect services we provide to
vulnerable people, as much as we can, as we've done in the past 2
budgets. But I have also tasked the Chief Executive, Directors and
leaders of the opposition parties, to work together with me, to
develop bold and fresh ideas about how we reshape the Council
to deliver quality we can afford, as well as my Mayoral priorities
over the next 4 years. This is about how we do things differently
with the resources we have; not just the money, but the skills of
our workforce too. We cannot continue to simply cut services. We
need to find a way to continue providing services such as leisure
centres, libraries, parks, social care and others in a radically
different way. We need to write a new chapter for our
services. We need to forge a strong future for Liverpool City
Council where value for money, innovation and our customers come
first. And we need to deliver bigger and brighter opportunities for
the people of this City. I want everybody to get involved in
this; staff, residents, service users, businesses, partners and
voluntary organisations. Of course, in the short term, we
cannot get away from making serious and tough choices. But I can
assure people that I intend to steer Liverpool through the next four
years. We will come out of it, we will do our best for the people of
this City and we will have a better future at the end of it."
Residents, service users, businesses, partner organisations and key
stakeholders can send in their views via
email or by writing to:- 'Budget Views', Chief Executive's Office, Liverpool City
Council,
Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2DH.
You can view a video message from the Mayor about the budget at:-
www.liverpool.gov.uk/budget.
The Council will also be launchong the 'You Choose' budget simulator
online later this month as part of its Budget consultation, and
briefings will be held for key stakeholders/community groups.
Further consultation will take place once the £32 million of
proposals are selected, and some specific proposals will be subject
to detailed consultation with the people who use services, as well
as service providers and key organisations.
TUSHAN OFF-LICENCE IN BOOTLE IS
CLOSED!
MERSEYSIDE Police
Superintendent Kevin Johnson issued the following statement:-
"After having heard a number of concerns and issues being raised by
residents and a number of incidents, Merseyside Police, on Friday, 5
October 2012, applied for and been granted a temporary closure order
of Tushan's Off-licence on Hawthorne Road, Bootle. The Shop will now
remain closed until the matter is reviewed by Sefton Council's local
licensing committee." |
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3rd year of
Council Tax freeze announced
THE Chancellor of the
Exchequer has announced new support for local authorities in England
to help them freeze Council Tax for a further year and assist
in keeping those bills down. The Government will now set aside an
extra £450 million to help freeze Council tax bills in
England. The support for local authorities means that taxpayers
living in an average Band D home in England could save up to £72 on
a f5% in Council Tax. Over the last 2 years the Government has
provided grants of around £2 billion to help freeze Council
Tax. A freeze in Council tax in 2013 to 2014 would represent a
real terms cut of around 2% and a fall of 9% in real terms over the
past 3 years. The £450 million will be made available, through a new
grant scheme, to local authorities who decide to freeze or reduce
their Council Tax next year. If they do, Councils,
Police and Fire Authorities will stand to receive £225 million of
funding in both financial years, 2013 to 2014 and 2014 to 2015,
equivalent to raising their 2012 to 2013 Council tax by 1%. In
addition, in 2013 to 2014, the Government will propose to lower the
local authority tax referendum threshold to 2%. This would mean if a
local authority seeks to raise its relevant basic amount of
Council Tax by more than 2%, local people would have the right to
keep Council Tax bills down through a binding referendum veto.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will
formally set out the detail on this in December (2012).
Views invited over Council
Tax benefit cuts
TIME is running out for
residents in Liverpool to have their say on major changes to
Council Tax benefit. Liverpool City Council has to
implement a cut of more than £6 million in Council Tax
benefit, as a result of changes being made by the Government. In
April 2013, Council Tax Benefit will be replaced by a new
scheme called Council Tax Support. There will be a 10% in the
amount of Government funding provided, and it is being left up to
local authorities to decide whether or not to pass on the reduction
to claimants. For Liverpool, this means that savings of £6.2
million from the £62 million budget will have to be found, meaning
difficult decisions as to who should continue to get help with their
Council Tax. Pensioners are not affected, but this means, if
payments are reduced to cover the shortfall they will come from the
44,700 working age customers, who receive benefit. As fewer people
are making up the shortfall, this could mean an average cut in real
terms of 17.5% to those currently claiming this benefit.
The Council is consulting on 3 options:-
► Option A - Funding the shortfall through
extra budget cuts and possibly with additional Council Tax
rises, meaning no impact on any claimant's benefits
► Option B - Reducing the amount of
Council Tax Support given to all working age claimants by 17.5%.
This would mean a single person living in a Band A property who is
in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance having to pay £3.41 a week
compared to nothing at the moment. A single person earning £121.60
per week would have to pay an additional £1.82 per week; while a
couple with two children who work and claim Tax Credits would have
to find an extra £2.22 per week
► Option C - Funding the shortfall through
a mix of options A and B. This may need an increase in Council
Tax and/or budget cuts elsewhere and claimants having to pay less
compared to Option B.
Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Councillor Paul
Brant, said:- "The Council is being forced into an
appalling decision which will impact on hard pressed and vulnerable
families who can least afford any reduction in support. It is vital
we go out to consultation on a range of options, to find out
people's views and make sure we are in the best possible position to
make a decision on which option to take. It's a real concern as a
lot of these households are going to struggle to make up the
difference and may end up slipping further into poverty as a result
of the cuts that are being imposed on us by the Government."
Surveys are available by visiting the Council
website, from One Stop Shops
and Libraries, or can be sent out by calling:- 0151 233 3009.
All responses will be treated as confidential and will not be shared
with 3rd parties. The closing date is 31 October 2012 and the
results will be known in early January 2013, before the
Council makes a decision on how to administer the scheme. |
