Members of the public are being given the opportunity to have their say on Bath & North East Somerset Council’s spending plans for the next financial year.
The Guildhall in Bath
The consultation covers council tax levels, savings and ways to raise income and the escalating costs being faced in the local authority’s Children’s and Adult services.
The consultation will run until Monday 20th January at 5pm.
Views are sought on the operational spend of the council’s day-to-day services, known as the revenue budget.
It does not refer to one-off spending on infrastructure such as transport projects, known as capital schemes, which form separate budget proposals.
The council’s proposed capital programme will be included in the budget papers being presented to cabinet and the council in February 2025.
There are two types of growth proposals being consulted on, with a total value of £13,764,000.
This is to address increased costs and demands primarily due to growth pressures as a result of the cost of social care including placements for children and young people with special needs and Home to School Transport.
To address the increased costs, projects are already under way which in the long-term will reduce the impact of rising costs in Children’s and Adult Services – particularly on what are called out-of-area placements.
Schemes at Culverhay, Charlton House, in Keynsham, and a development in Englishcombe Lane, Bath, will provide specialist education and purpose-built accommodation for vulnerable children and adults. However, these do not address the immediate budget challenges.
The council agreed its 2024/25 budget in February and at the same time set out savings and income generation plans, as well as funding requirements, to achieve a balanced budget for 2025-26.
However, since then it has faced escalating costs and has had to look again at additional savings and ways to raise income. These were set out in the?Medium Term Financial Strategy?which was reported to cabinet in September.
In order to help meet the additional funding requirement in 2025/26, and subject to confirmation through the funding settlement, £3.8 million of funding, estimated as a result of the autumn budget, has also been identified.
Given that this still leaves a funding gap, the council is now consulting on council tax, savings, and income measures designed to deliver a balanced budget, as required by law. Even with these proposed changes, the council would have the fourth lowest council tax in the South West unitary councils.
The proposals include increasing green bin charges from £57 to £70 a year, a rise in charges for residents’ parking permits and a council tax rise totalling 4.99% including the Adult Social Care precept.
Each of the saving and income items set out impacts and Equality Impact Assessments which the cabinet and council will consider when decisions are made on the budget in February.
The final budget proposals for 2025 to 2026, which will be considered by cabinet on 13th February and Full Council on 25th February, will also reflect any other changes to the council’s finances, including the level of central government funding, which should be confirmed later in December.
Proposals will be scrutinised by the Corporate Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel on 28th January, before going to cabinet and council.
You can take part in the consultation here. It closes at 5pm on 20th January 2025.
