Cabinet to consider budget for 2020-21
Posted on Tuesday 17th December 2019
Newport City Council’s cabinet will consider the budget for 2020-21 and how services could be delivered within the limited resources available, at their meeting on 20 December.
The council provides more than 800 services for more than 151,000 people living in more than 65,000 households.
In 2020-21 the council faces a shortfall of around £6 million to fund the same level of services.
Councillor Jane Mudd, Leader of Newport City Council, said: “We have already made significant savings and efficiencies – £41 million over the last five years and have reduced the size of our workforce by almost a quarter.
“However, the demands on services, particularly in social care and education, show absolutely no sign of diminishing. As a result we must find even more ‘new’ savings – at least £21m over the next three years.
“We are trying very hard to plan for a sustainable future, but with less money, fewer staff and stretched services, it is incredibly difficult.”
The main pressures in Newport include:
- An aging population becoming increasingly dependent on care; requiring more complex and expensive packages to help keep people in their own homes. The costs of providing packages of care have risen from £33 million in 2015/16 to a forecasted £44 million this year.
- Since 2015/16, there has been an 85 per cent increase in the number of children being given care placements outside Newport and a 109 per cent increase in the number of children in independent fostering arrangements
- There are 1,046 more pupils than three years ago
- There are 256 more pupils with additional learning needs
Councillor Mudd, added: “One area of the budget where it is always hard to strike the balance is council tax. Although it contributes less than a quarter towards the total budget, we understand that it is a considerable outgoing for our residents.
“Newport has consistently had one of the lowest council tax rates in Wales – however much we might not want to do it, we have to consider raising it, but even then we would expect to still be very low in comparison to other authorities. At this stage, we are considering a rise of 7.95 percent – the majority of our households are in bands A to C, which would mean a rise of between £1.14 and £1.52 a week.
“The council’s main source of funding is from Welsh Government. Details of our draft settlement have been later this year, which has been an added challenge when trying to plan. We expect to receive details of our draft settlement early next week and are hopeful that it will be favourable for the city. However, even with a more positive package, savings will still be needed and delivering a balanced budget will still be difficult.”
The cabinet meeting agenda and reports are available online. You can also find out more about where the council’s funding comes from and the general budget challenge at www.newport.gov.uk/budget
Following the meeting, a public consultation on the proposals for changes to services and support provided by the council will run until the end of January 2020.