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School crossing patrols will be axed and grass cutting reduced as Staffordshire County Council looks to bridge a £35 million funding gap.
Jobs in back office functions, as well as some front-line services, could be cut as part of the authority’s latest budget savings, with a 2.95 per cent council tax hike also being planned.
County council leaders have revealed their medium term financial strategy (MTFS) for the next five years three months earlier than usual, due to the size of the financial challenge facing the authority.
If the plans are approved next February, the council will withdraw funding for all 248 school crossing patrols it currently supports from September 2019, saving £540,000 a year. But uniforms, equipment and training will still be provided for community-run schemes.
The council is also looking at reducing urban grass cutting to save £400,000. This could see the frequency of cutting decreased from five to two or three times a year.
And the elected members’ community grants scheme – which gives each county councillor £7,500 to spend on groups and activities in their divisions – will be completely abolished, saving £465,000.
County council leader Philip Atkins suggested that services such as school crossing patrols or grass cutting could be taken over by district or parish councils.
He said: “We have taken away school crossing patrols in the past, where there are pelican crossings for example, and this is a continuation of that process. We will still provide the uniforms, the lollipop sticks, the training and the management for patrols if schools, the district council, the parish council, local businesses or volunteers wish to continue in those areas. It’s just that we will not be paying them any more.
“At the moment we cut grass verges five times a year – that would be reduced to two or three times, so it won’t be neat and tidy. But if a district council or housing association wanted to take the work on, we could probably work with them and give them the money we would have spent in that area.”
Bigger savings are set to come from changes to social care commissioning, which is the largest area of spending for the council.
One proposal would see stricter implementation of the rules around where people can access council-funded residential placements, meaning some service users could end up at homes miles away from their relatives.
This change, which would not affect existing service users, could save £4 million in 2019/20, rising to £13.8 million by 2023/24.
Other proposed changes include restricting concessionary bus travel to after 9.30am – a change Stoke-on-Trent City Council made in 2012 – and controls on ‘non-essential’ spending such as recruitment and travel.
And around £4.6 million will be saved by cuts to back office support services, although it is not yet known how many jobs will be cut. The county council paid out 144 exit packages last year.
Mr Atkins added: “We’ve looked at what there is in the organisation where we can make savings, rather than front line services. We’re a lot smaller organisation than we were in the past, we have done a lot of transformation. With digital there’s a lot more self-service that people can do with expenses and that sort of thing.
“There are support services, communications, finance, there’s a whole host of areas we will have to review. It’s a bit early to say how many [jobs].”
The proposed council tax rise is lower than the 5.95 per cent hike approved last year, due to the council having already implemented the permitted social care precepts. But Staffordshire still has one of the lowest council tax rates in the country.
Mr Atkins said the rising cost of social care was putting massive pressure on the council’s budget, meaning further service cuts are needed. But he insisted Staffordshire was still a well-run council, which would not go the same way as Northamptonshire, which effectively went bankrupt earlier this year.
He said: “We’ve done a good job over the last nine or 10 years. We’ve saved £240 million, and we’ve invested in the economy.
“Ten years ago social care funding was £200 million, last year it was £300 million, and this year it’s £315 million, so we’re investing where the care is needed. But we’ve reached the point now where we’ve got to make significant savings.
“We’re doing this early so we can have proper consultations over the next six months. We’ll need to make the savings in-year, from April 1, 2019. It’s quite right that we have this open honest debate.
There’s also a bigger debate we need to have as a nation, on how we pay for adult social care.
“We’re not Northamptonshire – our budget is balanced for this year, there’s isn’t. By doing this we will ensure that we’ve got a balanced budget over the next five years. We’re in a different position altogether."
The county council is also hoping to be part of the Government’s next business rates retention pilot, which could help balance the books in future years.
Mike Sutherland, cabinet member for finance added: “While we are hopeful extra funding will be forthcoming, it is important that we set out plans to ensure we can balance our books for next year – something which all councils must do.
“We are facing some very difficult decisions around areas such as school crossing patrols, but this is just one option we have needed to propose in order to work with the funding we have available.
“Where areas are affected, we will work with communities wherever possible to help them find local solutions.”
If the MTFS is supported by cabinet members next week, consultation with staff, unions and members of the public will begin.
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/new...ordshire-county-council-cuts-lollipop-1993682
Jobs in back office functions, as well as some front-line services, could be cut as part of the authority’s latest budget savings, with a 2.95 per cent council tax hike also being planned.
County council leaders have revealed their medium term financial strategy (MTFS) for the next five years three months earlier than usual, due to the size of the financial challenge facing the authority.
If the plans are approved next February, the council will withdraw funding for all 248 school crossing patrols it currently supports from September 2019, saving £540,000 a year. But uniforms, equipment and training will still be provided for community-run schemes.
The council is also looking at reducing urban grass cutting to save £400,000. This could see the frequency of cutting decreased from five to two or three times a year.
And the elected members’ community grants scheme – which gives each county councillor £7,500 to spend on groups and activities in their divisions – will be completely abolished, saving £465,000.
County council leader Philip Atkins suggested that services such as school crossing patrols or grass cutting could be taken over by district or parish councils.
He said: “We have taken away school crossing patrols in the past, where there are pelican crossings for example, and this is a continuation of that process. We will still provide the uniforms, the lollipop sticks, the training and the management for patrols if schools, the district council, the parish council, local businesses or volunteers wish to continue in those areas. It’s just that we will not be paying them any more.
“At the moment we cut grass verges five times a year – that would be reduced to two or three times, so it won’t be neat and tidy. But if a district council or housing association wanted to take the work on, we could probably work with them and give them the money we would have spent in that area.”
Bigger savings are set to come from changes to social care commissioning, which is the largest area of spending for the council.
One proposal would see stricter implementation of the rules around where people can access council-funded residential placements, meaning some service users could end up at homes miles away from their relatives.
This change, which would not affect existing service users, could save £4 million in 2019/20, rising to £13.8 million by 2023/24.
Other proposed changes include restricting concessionary bus travel to after 9.30am – a change Stoke-on-Trent City Council made in 2012 – and controls on ‘non-essential’ spending such as recruitment and travel.
And around £4.6 million will be saved by cuts to back office support services, although it is not yet known how many jobs will be cut. The county council paid out 144 exit packages last year.
Mr Atkins added: “We’ve looked at what there is in the organisation where we can make savings, rather than front line services. We’re a lot smaller organisation than we were in the past, we have done a lot of transformation. With digital there’s a lot more self-service that people can do with expenses and that sort of thing.
“There are support services, communications, finance, there’s a whole host of areas we will have to review. It’s a bit early to say how many [jobs].”
The proposed council tax rise is lower than the 5.95 per cent hike approved last year, due to the council having already implemented the permitted social care precepts. But Staffordshire still has one of the lowest council tax rates in the country.
Mr Atkins said the rising cost of social care was putting massive pressure on the council’s budget, meaning further service cuts are needed. But he insisted Staffordshire was still a well-run council, which would not go the same way as Northamptonshire, which effectively went bankrupt earlier this year.
He said: “We’ve done a good job over the last nine or 10 years. We’ve saved £240 million, and we’ve invested in the economy.
“Ten years ago social care funding was £200 million, last year it was £300 million, and this year it’s £315 million, so we’re investing where the care is needed. But we’ve reached the point now where we’ve got to make significant savings.
“We’re doing this early so we can have proper consultations over the next six months. We’ll need to make the savings in-year, from April 1, 2019. It’s quite right that we have this open honest debate.
There’s also a bigger debate we need to have as a nation, on how we pay for adult social care.
“We’re not Northamptonshire – our budget is balanced for this year, there’s isn’t. By doing this we will ensure that we’ve got a balanced budget over the next five years. We’re in a different position altogether."
The county council is also hoping to be part of the Government’s next business rates retention pilot, which could help balance the books in future years.
Mike Sutherland, cabinet member for finance added: “While we are hopeful extra funding will be forthcoming, it is important that we set out plans to ensure we can balance our books for next year – something which all councils must do.
“We are facing some very difficult decisions around areas such as school crossing patrols, but this is just one option we have needed to propose in order to work with the funding we have available.
“Where areas are affected, we will work with communities wherever possible to help them find local solutions.”
If the MTFS is supported by cabinet members next week, consultation with staff, unions and members of the public will begin.
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/new...ordshire-county-council-cuts-lollipop-1993682
