Working all year around for Stratton Conservatives

22/11/09 - Ward Update - St Margaret

Finance within the Council

Swindon, like many other Councils nationally, finds itself with severe financial challenges over the coming four-year period. 2010/11 is the final year of the current three-year public spending period and the Council has reasonable certainty over the level of Central Government grant funding.

Forecasts beyond that predict cash decreases in grant funding due to the significant financial challenges the Government faces following diverting funds to support the struggling economy. Alongside this, the Council is facing rising costs and diminishing local income as a result of the recession and continuing demographic rises in demands on services.

We expect significant cost pressures within the Council in 2010/11. These are likely to be exceed by any increases in income. Inflationary, demographic, recession-led and other cost increases can therefore only be funded by driving efficiently and reduced costs within the council.

Cost pressures facing us mirror those being experienced in other authorities up and down the country, including the Impact of the recession on income levels (e.g. car parks, planning fees) and demand for benefits service, rising numbers of older and more vulnerable people, Pressures around safeguarding children, increasing costs of landfill.

The “gap” between available funding and the rise in net costs facing the Council will be significant and, if anything, the situation from 2011/12 is likely to be worse than that in 2010/11

Over the past few years the Council has identified and implemented in excess of £20m of efficiency savings. In order to balance our books we will have to find even more savings over the coming years, inevitably the scope to realise such efficiencies is diminishing year on year. In this context, a number of key responding strategies are being developed, including:

Changing the focus of service provision from intervention to prevention; enabling greater community ownership and involvement in local service delivery; using the opportunity presented by the New Ways of Working project to rationalise team structures; Closer joint working with public sector partners to align resources to common priority areas and remove duplication; Reviewing the level of subsidy provided by Council Taxpayers generally to the costs of services provided to individuals; Challenging suppliers in all areas on the cost of services provided.

The budget will continue to be a challenge and as a group we will continue to drive efficiency within the council to keep council lax affordable whilst also providing efficient services to support the town.

The Councils Benefits Service

This time last year the Audit commission reported on the benefits service within Swindon Borough Council. The service, which had up in the preceding year been regarded as “excellent”, was rated “poor”, in line with other councils who have been audited under a new regime from the Audit commission.

Whilst there was no change in the level of service provision between audits, the report did highlight significant deficiencies within the council’s benefits system relating to the time taken to process applications and the accuracy of benefit calculations.

A period of intense work has ensued since then and there has been a marked increase in the efficiency of the housing benefits service, in terms of both the speed to process applications and equally important the accuracy of the financial calculations.

Clearly was we continue in a recessionary environment, it is critical for the council to respond in a timely and accurate manner to the increasing number of people who require housing benefit and as the cabinet member responsible, I am working to ensure this is the case.

If however you are experiencing any difficulties with the housing benefits service or would like to make a comment in respect of the service, please do not hesitate to contact me directly

Conservatives Support for Pensioners

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May and Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley recently pledged that the Conservatives would campaign to Protect Britain’s Pensioners against Gordon Brown’s plan to scrap the Disability Living Allowance and the Attendance Allowance.

2.4 million pensioners receive on average £60 per week or £3,400 a year from these benefits. Gordon Brown’s plans to scrap them would mean that some pensioners would lose around a quarter of their income.

Labour has chosen to penalise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society for the sake of another eye catching announcement. As with every Labour initiative, someone has to pay and, as with many of them, it is the least able who are to be forced to do so.

These benefits are a vital support for disabled pensioners and give them the chance to have an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs.

I belive that it is absolutely critical that we all work to protect and support some of the most vulnerable in our society, and I welcome this pledge from the Conservative Party.

Surgery

Please note that there will be no surgery in December, and our next surgery will be Saturday 30th January 2009 at Grange Drive Community Centre between 10am and 12pm. No need to make an appointment - please just turn up.