Council leader outlines how council intends to cope with £20m cuts

Council Roger Stone says most of the cuts will be made from "back office" areas.

He has outlined the council's plans in an open letter to Rotherham's Council Tax payers, which you can read here.

'THIS is the third year that I have used this opportunity to explain the Council’s annual budget position.

By now I am sure you are familiar with the message that all councils face unprecedented cuts in central Government funding.

Since the last election, we have been forced to save more than £50 million here in Rotherham.

Next year, we have been asked to find another £20.2 million. We expect these year-on-year reductions to continue until at least 2018.

In achieving all that has been asked of us, local government has demonstrated that it is one of the most efficient parts of the public sector.

By being open to new ideas, scrutinising every element of our expenditure and becoming more efficient, we have maintained services for those who need them most, and in many areas have delivered improvements.

However, we are now facing both the introduction of further significant changes in funding and major changes to the welfare reform system that will hit hard those in our communities least able to cope.

Of course, I wish I could report a stronger position in terms of the money being made available to us to improve the lives of Rotherham people.

However, there is some more positive news to report in a number of specific areas where we will support residents through these difficult times.

Firstly, for the third year running, we are proposing no increase in Council Tax and as a result we will qualify for the Government’s Council Tax Freeze Grant  worth around £938,000 to Rotherham.

This means that the payment due for a Band D property will be pegged at £1,230.03.

The majority of Rotherham properties (87 per cent) are banded below this (bands A to C) and so their occupants will pay less.

Secondly, we’ve worked hard to develop a fair deal for our citizens in responding to the changes in the council tax benefit system imposed by the Government.

From April 1, Council Tax Benefit will be abolished for people of working age and replaced by a scheme which each local council has been asked to design to support those who previously received CT benefit.

This is called the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

The Government has also substantially reduced the amount of money it gives us to provide this new scheme.

Difficult decisions have therefore had to be made about who gets financial support and how much they receive.

After consultation with our residents, we have designed a scheme that minimises the impact on vulnerable groups and continues to give an incentive to those looking to get back into work. 

As a result of this work, Rotherham will qualify for the Government’s Council Tax Reduction Transitional Grant worth around £468,000.

However, a huge shortfall between what we spend now and the budget for next year still remains.

Our calm and measured approach of forward planning; identifying what is most important to our communities and reducing our “back office” functions to protect frontline services has enabled us to deal more effectively with the huge budget reductions imposed on us. 

Our workforce has reduced by over 1,000 in the last two years, including an overall management reduction of 19 per cent. 

All our staff have been subject to the national pay freeze, which is due to be lifted in April.

We believe a further £300,000 will be saved in 2013/2014 through working with trade unions to deliver changes which will help minimise staff reductions to between 50 and 60 full-time equivalent staff, significantly lower than elsewhere.

I would like to record my personal thanks to all our staff who have worked extremely hard to deliver on the tough challenges with which they continue to be faced.

This approach, however, can only take us so far and with further Government reductions on the scale being proposed, it will be impossible for this not to impact in some way on our communities.

Of our savings next year, £14 million will not affect frontline services.

However, with budgets pared to the bone, we have been forced to include £5.8 million worth of savings that will come from frontline services.

We understand that in 2014/2015 here in Rotherham we will face a further 9.1 per cent reduction in funding  beyond that is uncertain.

What we do know, however, is that we will need to continue to listen to our communities to ensure our priorities are the same as theirs.

We must continue our track record of strong financial management and tight spending controls if we are to do the best job we can for the people of Rotherham within the resources available to us.

Cllr Roger Stone

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