Councils work together to fill giant cash hole
Tuesday, 24th September 2013.
It is estimated that local councils will be getting nearly 40 per cent less cash from the Government over the next two years, and leaders have been getting together to work out how they are going to cope with the cuts.
The scale of the financial challenge facing Suffolk’s eight largest councils was laid bare yesterday, as local authority leaders and chief executives pledged to work together to overcome them.
From April 2014 until March 2016, Suffolk councils are expecting to experience a £62.7million cut in government funding, equivalent to 39 per cent.
If the costs associated with increasing demand for services, inflation and an additional two years of Government austerity cuts (2016/17-2017/18) are taken into account, more than £160million will need to be saved.
The political leaders and chief executives from the county council, the seven district and borough authorities and met with Suffolk’s police and crime commissioner and chief constable in Ipswich to find ways of working together to save money.
Leaders vowed to build on existing joint working arrangements and collaborate further to protect services.
They also agreed not take financial decisions which simply move costs around the public sector and to find ways of integrating services. And they agreed to call on Suffolk MPs to raise the implications of the funding cuts with communities secretary Eric Pickles.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council is expected to lose £1.56million, or 47 per cent of its grant, and Suffolk County Council just over £50million, or 37 per cent of its grant.
The scale of the financial challenge facing Suffolk’s eight largest councils was laid bare yesterday, as local authority leaders and chief executives pledged to work together to overcome them.
From April 2014 until March 2016, Suffolk councils are expecting to experience a £62.7million cut in government funding, equivalent to 39 per cent.
If the costs associated with increasing demand for services, inflation and an additional two years of Government austerity cuts (2016/17-2017/18) are taken into account, more than £160million will need to be saved.
The political leaders and chief executives from the county council, the seven district and borough authorities and met with Suffolk’s police and crime commissioner and chief constable in Ipswich to find ways of working together to save money.
Leaders vowed to build on existing joint working arrangements and collaborate further to protect services.
They also agreed not take financial decisions which simply move costs around the public sector and to find ways of integrating services. And they agreed to call on Suffolk MPs to raise the implications of the funding cuts with communities secretary Eric Pickles.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council is expected to lose £1.56million, or 47 per cent of its grant, and Suffolk County Council just over £50million, or 37 per cent of its grant.
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