Local people are being asked for their views as B&NES Council looks for ways to help meet the pressures on its budget, with 300 jobs set to go at the local authority as it ‘changes the way it works’.
Like every other council in the country, B&NES Council faces unprecedented challenges due to increasing demand for services and reduced funding.
The Council is assessing how it can save a further £16 million by 2020 – on top of the £27 million that is in the process of being saved, and the £15 million announced in the previous budget – while continuing to deliver essential services
This will help to close a growing funding gap, due in part to the increasing demand and rising cost for adult and children social care.
In a presentation, going out to local area forums over the coming weeks, the Council is setting out its priorities to put residents first; protecting and caring for its most vulnerable residents, nurturing people’s health, safety and wellbeing, and providing ways for everyone in the community to reach their full potential.
Over the next 12 months, the Council says it is committed to working closely with the local community to help reduce demand and make their money go further.
Cllr Charles Gerrish (Conservative, Keynsham North) Cabinet Member for Finance & Efficiency, said: “Despite already making significant savings and capitalising on opportunities to earn income, we will need to change the way that we work, identify what we can do differently less of, or stop, and how we can raise additional income.
We are already working hard to maximise extra income and will be putting our case to Government to recognise the unprecedented challenges that we face.
Cllr Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip), Leader of Council, said: “Almost three quarters of all councils in England which deliver social care are struggling to balance their budgets.
“So far we’ve saved £27 million with minimal impact on front line services, whilst still investing in key projects such as Bath Quays and the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone, and continuing to be regarded as a good authority in key areas by independent inspectors.
“For example, we have an outstanding fostering and adoption service, silver standard for homelessness services and some of the best schools in the South West.
“However, we have to prioritise what we do in the future while putting residents first and ensuring front line services are protected as far as possible. Clearly this will mean some very difficult choices. We see the local area forums as a key element to help us meet these challenges.
“I recognise that this will have an impact on staff, and these changes will be managed with care and attention.”
The Council estimates that in future it will become a smaller organisation as it changes the way it works, which will result in a reduction of around 300 full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs in its 2,000 FTE-strong workforce (15%).
The detailed presentation going out to local area forums says there are many reasons why the authority is under financial pressure and it forecasts that by the end of this year 80p in every £1 will be spent on social care.
An increasing number of people are living longer with complex conditions that require support which is expensive; more children and young adults are living with complex care and educational needs – some costing up to £250,000 per person – and there are 14 per cent more children in Bath & North East Somerset Council’s care than last year.
The Council says it is paying a fair price for good quality care services; it is meeting the national living wage, it has more responsibility for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and it is helping more families struggling with low income.
This all adds greater pressures onto the system in terms of social care and accommodation costs.
Cllr Gerrish added: “Our role as a universal provider is changing, so the way we work has to change. As part of this, we are aiming for better integrated services with the NHS around adult care. And we have to ensure our statutory functions are maintained – even if they are delivered differently.
“We also need to be more creative in the way we help our local economy grow and we are working hard to find innovative ways to raise income and become more self-sufficient by investing in the local economy, bringing in new jobs and making the most of our commercial estate and heritage services to raise income.”
The BaNES Green Party issued the following statement regarding the proposed job losses: “We are saddened and worried by today’s news that BaNES will be cutting 300 FTE posts.
“Local services are already seriously stretched, and it is hard to imagine the harm these cuts will cause to services for the most vulnerable, as well as those that the area needs simply to function.
“As the only party opposed to austerity in the last local elections, it is no surprise to us that these cuts will have to be made – it was entirely predictable, and indeed we did predict it.
“‘Efficiency savings’ of the scale required were never going to happen when staff are already stretched as far as they can go.
“What is needed is an urgent increase to the central government grant and a council that is prepared to lobby hard for it.”
The Council wants to hear resident’s views on how best the authority can meet the pressures on its budget – people are invited to one of the Council’s local area forums on:
- 15th Nov – Freshford Village Memorial Hall, 6pm
- 22nd Nov – The Kaposvar Room, Guildhall, Bath, 6pm
- 27th Nov – Council Chamber, Guildhall, Bath, 6pm
- 29th Nov – Midsomer Norton Town Hall (TBC), 6pm
- 30th Nov – Community Space, Keynsham, 6:30pm
- 4th Dec – Chew Valley School, Chew Magna, 6pm.
