Council able to balance its budget for the next twelve months

Cheshire West and Chester Council have published their proposals to set a balanced budget following public consultation. This is subject to formal approval by councillors on 15 February 2024.

The Council will spend £990m in 2024-25 on services for local people.  These include schools, social care, support for people in need, public protection, local economic growth, libraries, highways, street cleaning, bin collections, and a range of other areas which impact on everyone’s lives and livelihoods.

The budget proposals are being considered during an incredibly challenging period for local government, with some councils facing effective bankruptcy - known as section 114.  This is in the context of huge increases in demand for social care and other services and high levels of inflation, which are significantly impacting on what Councils are able to deliver.

Cheshire West and Chester has identified savings of £29.8m next year, with further savings required between 2025 and 2028.  It is proposing to achieve this through preventative work to reduce demand on the most-costly care services, reviewing the levels of service provided across other areas of the Council, and further income generation.

At the same time, the Council’s budget package also includes significant investment in the future.  It is proposing to increase spend by £28m in Adult Social Care and by £21m in Children’s Services, to help the growing number of people who need support, and cover the considerably higher costs of providing those services.

In addition, the Council is recommending a £375m investment in the borough’s infrastructure over the next four years.  This will include funding for the regeneration of town centres, for housing, to upgrade and improve its highways and transport infrastructure, and to improve leisure facilities to support the health and wellbeing of its residents.

To increase the funding available for local services, Central Government has given Councils the ability to raise Council Tax by up to 4.99%, with an expectation they will use this to continue to provide the support their communities need.  This means that residents will see a Band D Council Tax increase of £1.72 per week.

A public consultation known as Funding our future has informed the proposals and the Council is continuing to work on ideas to meet funding pressures for the next four years.  

Leader of the Council, Cllr Louise Gittins, said: 

“This is without doubt the most demanding financial challenge we have ever faced as a local authority.  For some time, balancing our budget has been more difficult with every year that passes, but this has become a situation of huge concern for the sector as a whole - not just here in Cheshire West and Chester.

“While we are not at imminent risk of issuing a section 114 notice as some other Councils have done, our budget gap is significant.  We have identified £29.8m of savings to address the immediate challenge of setting a budget for 2024-25, but will need to make further considerable savings in the future.

“The 2024-25 funding package provided to Councils by Government includes an assumption they will all raise Council Tax by the maximum level allowed to cover rising costs.  This puts local authorities in a position of having to either increase bills for residents, many of whom are already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, or further reduce the support they provide.

“We will continue to engage with Central Government to call for a sustainable funding solution for us and other Councils, which does not put the onus on household budgets to bridge the funding gap.  However, we need to plan in line with the information and forecasts currently available to us.

“Our local response has always been based on sound financial management, innovation, listening to the priorities of the communities we serve, and supporting our residents most in need.  This will continue to be the case.

“At the same time, we also need to focus on the longer-term prosperity of everyone across the borough.  Our budget proposals include significant investment in early help and prevention, to support people before their needs escalate; further investment to regenerate our towns and cities; and a range of plans to transform the delivery of our services in ways that meet the needs of our communities, while reducing our costs.  This reflects the feedback we received from local people through their responses to our budget consultation.

“Many tough choices need to be made - now and in the future - but we will do everything we can to safeguard the financial sustainability of the Council and continue to support our communities as effectively and compassionately as we possibly can.”

Cabinet Member for Legal and Finance, Cllr Carol Gahan, said: 

“Cheshire West and Chester Council has long been recognised for managing our limited resources well, and providing the good quality services that our residents and businesses need.

“However, we face a truly unprecedented challenge.  Our Council has never before had to respond to a budget gap of this scale.  While we have a legal obligation to set a balanced budget, as well as deliver value for money, we also have a moral obligation to protect those who need our help the most.  We are absolutely committed to minimising the impact of our financial position on the communities of our borough.

“The budget package we have developed reflects the views of those who engaged in our consultation process - including to increase our income to protect key services - and identifies a range of opportunities for us to provide support in new and more cost-effective ways.  In doing so, we will continue to prioritise those who need our help the most.”