Sutton Council is to put up council tax because of unprecedented cuts to its funding by central government and increasing demand for services for vulnerable people. The increase includes the Government’s 2 per cent precept to contribute to the extra costs of adult care for the elderly and a 1.99 per cent rise for general purposes for 2016/17.
For the average band D property it will mean an rise of £23.27 (2 per cent) a year for the adult social care precept to care for the elderly, equivalent to 44.8p a week, and £23.16 (1.99 per cent), equivalent to an extra 44.5p a week, in total an increase of 89.3p per week.
Sutton Council has to save £31m from its annual budget between 2015 and 2019 because of unprecedented Government cuts to funding and increased pressure on services. The council has already saved £43m from its annual budget since 2010. Its annual budget for 2016/17 is £144.9m. The council tax increase, which was approved by Sutton Council at the Full Council meeting last night, will generate an additional £1.6m per annum for care for the elderly and £1.6m per annum for other council services.
This will help to reduce the funding gap and protect some key council services that have a significant impact on people’s lives and future costs to the taxpayer, for example, effective prevention and early intervention that can reduce the likelihood of vulnerable adults moving into residential care.
Since 2010, the Council has been reviewing all areas of its work in order to make savings. This has included commissioning services with other boroughs, reducing the number of senior managers and staff, and saving millions in care for the elderly costs by supporting residents to stay in their homes longer through measures including greater day-to-day support and putting people in control.
Between 2010 and 2014 the council was able to make £32m of savings while protecting services.
In 2014, the council launched Sutton’s Future to involve residents in decisions to change, reduce or stop services. Since then, more than 12,000 people have taken part in 11 different consultations, helping to save a further £11m.
Cllr. Simon Wales, Lead Member for Finance and Assets at Sutton Council, said:
“We have to make some hard decisions because of the unprecedented Government cuts to our funding combined with increased pressure on services for vulnerable people. Between 2010 and 2019, we have to save £74m from our annual budget. That is an incredible saving to make and local authorities up and down the country are faced with making very difficult choices to close services and reduce their size.
“We are doing our very best to keep services open by restructuring the council to reduce staff numbers including senior management, share services with other councils and look at innovative ways to save money such as basing health workers in our children’s centres. So far we have saved £43m from our annual budget. We now have £31m more to save. The council tax rise will help to cover some of the shortfall in care for the elderly and other areas, but there is no question that we still have a long way to go in making these radical savings.”
Last month at the council’s Strategy and Resources Committee meeting, the recommended revenue budget for 2016/17 was outlined including a Government revenue support grant reduction of £10m, inflation and other costs of £3.5m and growing pressures of £4.0m which include increases in the cost of care for the elderly and of safeguarding children. It was proposed to be balanced by savings of £9.6m, a council tax increase of 1.99 per cent which would provide £1.6m, the use of central Government’s additional council tax precept for care for the elderly of 2 per cent to raise a further £1.6m, use of reserves of £1.4m and other changes of £3.3m.