A Budget for Warrington 2014-15 We pledge: to protect the most vulnerable We pledge: to support the local economy We pledge: to help build strong and active communities for all
Warrington s financial picture Last year, I launched the Council s budget consultation process against a back drop of unprecedented cuts from central Government. It was clear to us then that the financial pressures facing councils were too great for us to deal with on our own and we asked your views to help us understand what is important to you to inform the very difficult decisions which councillors must make about the allocation of our finances. Since then, the financial situation has worsened as the Government cuts in funding continue. Inevitably this means that the choices we must make are even tougher this year. We estimate that the Council will need to save around 17m to balance the budget next year, although we are still waiting for the government to announce our financial settlement. We hope this will be in early December and give us the time needed to set the budget. What we do know is that the Council is the 7th lowest funded of the 91 unitary and metropolitan authorities (outside of London) and the 2nd lowest funded in the North West. This makes it even harder for us to make cuts as we are starting from a very low funding baseline. Warrington has the 20th lowest Council Tax of the unitary and metropolitan authorities and the 2nd lowest in the North West. While a low level of Council Tax has previously been beneficial to residents, this means that we generate less funding locally from which we need to make cuts and as a result the cuts may seem more severe. We will be doing everything that we can to make as much of the necessary savings as possible through improving efficiency, reorganising and redesigning services, securing better procurement deals and by generating increased income for the Council. However, residents will know that we have done much of this already in order to make the 50m savings that have been achieved in the last three years. The stark truth is that there are limited back office changes that are available and they alone cannot deliver the budget savings that are required. The Council therefore has some incredibly tough choices to make on Council Tax and the services that it provides. In some cases, this may involve revision, reduction or even removal of some of the Council s services altogether, particularly any that are not statutory requirements. We are under no illusion as to how tough those choices are, but we are committed to keeping our three key pledges at the centre of that decision-making process. We will ensure that we do our utmost to protect the most vulnerable, to help build strong and active communities and to support the local economy. Once again, we will be looking at creative and innovative ways of working to either save money or else to generate income. You may be aware of examples we implemented last year that have seen us share services with neighbouring councils and partners, such as our joint adoption service with St Helens and Wigan, our shared youth offending team with Halton and Cheshire West and Chester and the transfer of our Leisure and Wellbeing and Cultural Services to LiveWire and Culture Warrington. We are also using our capital borrowing power to revitalise our town and to generate income for the Council, such as supporting our partner Registered Social Landlords to invest in new and existing housing here in Warrington. I will not pretend that this budget process will be easy. I know only too well that this pressure on the Council s funding comes alongside the tough economic times faced by the residents and businesses of Warrington. That is why it is important that everyone has an opportunity to comment on the budget position and our options for making the necessary savings. Our consultation runs until Friday 17 January 2014. Your views genuinely do count and have influenced the Council s decision-making in the past, so please ensure that you have your say. Thank you. Cllr Russ Bowden Executive Board Member for Corporate Resources and Assignments Warrington Borough Council 2
Spending where it matters; saving where we can We want to do as much as we can to safeguard individuals and families in Warrington who are most in need of our support and services. The council has three pledges to put the people of Warrington at the heart of operations and decisions to enable them to thrive now and in the future: Protecting the most vulnerable Helping those who are least able to help themselves is a responsibility we take very seriously at Warrington Borough Council. We are determined to find ways to offset current funding and demand pressures to ensure the most vulnerable people in our borough keep getting the services they need, when they need them most: Investing in children s agency placements as demand increases where we become more effective in early intervention. Investment in the domestic abuse service for additional staff to work with the refuge service and complex families programme Youth unemployment is a particular concern and we are helping local businesses set up apprenticeship schemes and have expanded our own, 26 new recruits started in January 2013 with a further 19 more in September 2013. Supporting the local economy We are committed to growing the local economy and are working hard with partners to attract new businesses and jobs to the town: The Warrington Mean Business growth and regeneration programme was agreed this year and through Warrington & Co are actively progressing development opportunities at the Southern Gateway, Bridge Street Quarter, Stadium Quarter, the Cabinet works and Warrington Waterfront Warrington played host to the Rugby League Work Cup this autumn which was a huge success and brought an estimated 20,000 visitors and 2.3m to boost the local economy The Council is working with Job Centre and the Training Provider Network to ensure that local people are able to access employment opportunities within the Omega development Supporting strong and active communities Making our communities safer and more attractive is another priority for you and us, we believe the best way to do this is together so we want to continue providing local people with opportunities to work with us to shape the future of their town: The AQUA project is a multi-agency approach in Bewsey and Dallam which aims to improve the care provided for frail elderly who are most at risk of social isolation and poor health. The project links in with a wider plan to improve the area and provide better outcomes for its residents A new community based alcohol treatment service was set up this year called Pathways to Recovery and is focussed on taking alcohol treatment to the heart of the Warrington community where it is needed. The service works with GPs, community groups and partners to provide education and prevention measure to reduce alcohol harm The Pyramid Theatre was one of seven organisations short-listed for a national lottery award in the Arts Project category which is excellent publicity for the Town and recognition of supporting the local community on cultural activities Work has been completed this year at St Elphins and Dakota Park to install new play areas and further works have been identified for 8 new sites in the town. 3
Where does our money come from now? The diagram below shows the different sources of council funding anticipated in 2013/14: Gross Income by Directorate 2013/14 Council Tax 71.4m Where does our money go? The diagram below shows where the Council intends to spend its budget in 2013/14: Gross Expenditure by Directorate 2013/14 Business rates 27.4m Revenue Support Grant 41.1m Other Ringfenced Government Grants 7.6m Fees & Charges 44.2m Other Government Grants 23.6m Other Grants and Contributions 5m Investment Income 1.2m Families & Wellbeing 127.2m Regeneration, Growth & Environment 43.8m Resources & Strategic Commissioning 30.8m Corporate Financing 19.7m In addition to the totals above, the Government provides the Council with a Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) of 143m that it pays out directly to schools and a subsidy grant of 69m for Housing Benefit (HB) payments that it pays out to the Boroughs benefit claimants. For 2013/14 Warrington Borough Council is anticipating an annual gross spend of 433.4m (including DSG and HB), this is how our budget is currently broken down across our main service areas: 127.2m on Families and Wellbeing Services. This includes: o Services to ensure Children in Care and Children with Disabilities have the same opportunities in life as those who live within the general population o A joint Adoption Service with Wigan and St Helens and a Fostering Service o Adult Social Care services for long term care, mental health services, safeguarding and older peoples care management 43.8m on Economic Regeneration, Growth and Environment. This includes: o Promoting and delivering an economically successful and safe place for people to live, work, invest and enjoy by providing development and public protection services o Transportation, highways and Public Realm Services o Household and business waste collection and recycling facilities 30.8m on Resources and Strategic Commissioning. This includes: o Front line services such as Registrars, Council Tax and Business Rates administration o Back office services to enable the Council to function e.g. HR, Legal and Accountancy Services 19.7m on Corporate Financing. This includes: o Concessionary travel scheme payments to travel operators o The repayment for borrowing to fund capital investments o Redundancy payments o Accounting costs e.g. depreciation and recharges 4
What does this mean? We help over 6,600 vulnerable people to retain independence and live in their own homes, two thirds of whom are 65 years old and over Provide over 23,100 hours of home care each and every week Care for 1,687 people in residential or nursing homes in Warrington Maintain 800 hectares of parks and green spaces 31,086 children and young people are educated in 84 school settings and 12,500 under 5 s are served by 12 children s centres in the town 227 children and young people are in residential and foster care Approximately 21,000 young people attended youth services between April 2012 and October 2013 Collect around 91,000 tonnes of waste from 89,000 homes each and every week, of which 23,000 tonnes was sent for recycling and 15,000 tonnes was composted Maintain over 700 miles of roads and 225 bridges Operate and look after 26,500 streetlights. Capital investments Each year we put together a capital investment programme to promote economic growth and regeneration in the town. This investment is vital to maintaining a vibrant town that continues to attract business and to generate new employment opportunities, as well as being an attractive place to live. Our ambitious capital programme is financed by specific grants or through the council s own prudential borrowing. In the face of more budget cuts, we will explore options where capital investment can offer savings or else offset future costs to the revenue budget. For the period 2013/14 to 2015/16, the council agreed in the last budget a forecast spend of 65 million on capital schemes in the borough. The Council is now anticipating to spend 64m in this year alone with further schemes due to be agreed before the next budget is set in March. In 2013/14 the major areas of investment are: 17.5m on schools including new and remodelled schools at Woolston, Bewsey Lodge and Fox Wood/Green Lane SEN 19m on roads and local transport including improvements to pedestrian facilities and cycle paths 7m investment in parks and open spaces including Walton Hall, Victoria and Bank Park 4m on community and neighbourhood facilities including new community and hub facilities and youth provision at Orford 1.5m investment of housing in the borough including disables adaptations and affordable housing Capital investment is funded by using receipts, grants and reserves where possible as this is not funded from income from council tax or any of the areas in the first graph on page 4. However sometimes we have to borrow money to fund capital investments and the cost of this borrowing does form part of the Council s spending as highlighted in the second graph on page 4. The Council also has an extensive Invest to Save programme which means large capital schemes are funded up front in order to make savings in the longer term. The Council has invested in some very innovative schemes which will not only pay for their own borrowing costs and therefore not having any impact on Council Tax payers funds but will also generate savings in future years to minimise the extent of the cuts to be made. In 2013/14 the major invest to save schemes are: Loans to Registered Social Landlords Mortgages to first time buyers Regeneration of Bridge Street and Stadium Quarter Omega Infrastructure Street lighting Improvement The Council is now formulating its Capital Programme for 2014/15 to 2016/17. A major emphasis of the programme will be on regeneration and innovative invest to save schemes, whilst still investing in our schools, highways, parks, transport network and housing. 5
Have your say We are committed to making changes to the way we operate, to be as efficient as possible to reduce the impact on frontline services. However, with the size of the savings we need to make, it is inevitable that some of those changes will affect our residents. So before we make any decisions, we want to hear what you think about those proposals which have the potential to affect some of the services you currently receive. There is also a space over the page for you to provide any comments; thank you. Our families and wellbeing - Children s Services Joint working with other Councils to share services and create efficiencies e.g. music service, fostering service, commissioning and SEN Review of external contracts and renegotiation where appropriate Review the way services are provided to generate and income where possible Identification of non-statutory services and reduce activity Our families and wellbeing - Adults Review of the Neighbourhood structure and redesign to crease efficiencies Making use of Public Health grant to fund services that contribute to the public health agenda in Warrington Review of contracts and renegotiate where appropriate Work in new ways to exploit funding and reduce expenditure e.g. Social Enterprise for adult social care Our economic regeneration, growth and environment Work in new and different ways to deliver a range of services that meet the needs of the customer Increase charges and fees where possible to generate income Provide Council services to individuals and companies on a commercial basis Review of contracts and new ways of procurement to reduce expenditure Our council Redesign how we deliver services to eliminate waste and ensure we are as efficient as we can be to support our front line service delivery Offer our professional services to external bodies on a commercial basis to generate income Review the way we manage Council elections and democracy to streamline processes and reduce expenditure Review our internal processes and skills mix of staff so that vacant posts can be deleted in back office services without affecting front line services 6
Please use this space to tell us which council services are most important to you and provide any comments on the suggested savings or to provide any of your own: 7
There are a number of ways to have your say on the proposals. You can fill in this form and post it back to: Budget Consultation 2014/15 Freepost RRUL-UHSE-LABG Warrington Borough Council Lower Ground Floor New Town House Buttermarket Street Warrington WA1 2NH Or you can go online to our website at www.warrington.gov.uk or join the debate on our Facebook site www.facebook.com/warringtonbc or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/warringtonbc Or you can email us your views via budgetconsultation@warrington.gov.uk The consultation period runs from Tuesday 3 December 2013 until Friday 17 January 2014. Warrington Borough Council is committed to hearing from as many of our residents, local businesses, staff and stakeholders during this consultation period to inform our budget setting process. We aim to be as open, fair and transparent as possible and will publish in full the results of this consultation exercise as part of the budget report that will go to the council s executive board in February and the March meeting of the full council. Thank you for taking part in this vital consultation and sharing your views with us.