Cuts fear as Shropshire Council has to find extra £10m saving
Shropshire Council could need to make an extra £10 million in cuts next year, officials said today. And they warned of more cuts for years to come.
A report going to authority’s cabinet next week says the possible further massive cuts could result in a huge reduction in the services it provides to the taxpayer.
The council is predicting it could have to find a further £9.6 million of savings on top of the £21 million already agreed for 2013/14, due to the loss of Government grants and an overspend in this year’s adult social care budget.
The figure will not be finalised until the Government announces its Full Financial Settlement in February.
The council has already put plans in place to save around £85 million over four years, including reductions of £38 million which had been made by March this year.
But the report warns that tens of millions of pounds of additional cuts may still have to be found beyond 2014 when the Government’s next Comprehensive Spending Review takes place.
Council leader Keith Barrow said: “We all know the economic climate is incredibly difficult for everyone, and these latest figures just confirm that there are more tough times still to come.”
Comments for: "Cuts fear as Shropshire Council has to find extra £10m saving"
Mark Roberts
The services we recieve as taxpayers are pretty poor now, god help us if further reductions are implemented
Pat K
Rather than loose any services you should consider running all of them on a three or four day week. Pro rata pay for and from cleaners to teachers. This would also include you the bosses as well ! When and if things improve you could then restore everyone back to normal without anyone loosing there job !!!
ph7
Putting staff on a four day week will not work. Not only would there be a massive detrimental affect on the Shropshie economy, it may lead to breaches of the council's statutory obligations. Many services are already running at maximum capacity.
it is not like a car firm where orders drop or there is a glut of unsold stock. A council has a legal duty to carry out many of its services and these must be carried out. The overspend in social services is a prime example. This is work which must be done and the budget must carry those services. If the budget is spent, the council still has to provide so it overspends the budget.
A four day week will mean many of the lower paid public sector workers, such as home helps and care assistants having to rely on the welfare state.
Jelly
Even the conservatives are now admitting that they are borrowing more money for longer - at least to 2017. Do you think cutting people's hours by 20 or 40% for that period is real viable solution?
Kath
Sigh. What has happened to the word 'lose' ? It's four letters. It's not hard.
janes'mum
How could teachers teach children on only 3 days a week, that could mean children being at school for an extra 4 years! How would we cope if the bin men only worked 3/4 days a week, the rubbish would soon build up, how would we bury our dead if the council burial grounds and crematoria were closed for half the week ............ I could go on ..........you really haven't thought this one through have you!
Bob
Well they could start by putting an end to all the pointless traffic lights they keep putting up everywhere unnecessarily.
Roger
You beat me to it.
There never seems to a problem with finding money to delay motorists in the name of the non existent cyclists or pedestrians are ready well serviced. The only exception I would make would be to remove the Bollards.
Pedestrianisation of St Julians can be achieved with a no entry sign.
Sorting out the management of the council seems to me to be more important than setting out outsourcing companies with capital loans and extra management for no current function. I would also like to know how much money is being spent on traffic wardens or whatever they are called now.
I want a review of all outsourced services to see how the contracts can be cut to bring them in line with the saving achieved in the direct labour workforce. A severe look at outsourcing to ensure service delivery or sanctions.
It should be made clear that if central government increase the cost of welfare services through cutting and not raising benefits in line with inflation they should supplement the support grant to pay for it.
How are the numbers of children taken into care changing because their parents can't afford to keep them? This will need to be carefully monitored next year when the changes of housing benefits come into affect. Publish what the changes are going to be.
What are the numbers on the devolution of services from central government? I want to know if the public will be deprived of services to pay for these. No Tory/Tory pacts to not make a fuss about shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Resident
On 28th September the Shropshire Star reported that six Conservative councillors were to have their allowances doubled and backdated. Lucky they got that in before this news.
Newport
No wonder they were trying to shaft the residents of Newport over the Sainsburys supermarket plan by forcing through approval as they were said to be receiving £21 million.
oswestrian
Planning issues in Newport are a matter for Telford and Wrekin Council, NOT Shropshire Council, although given that Telford and Wrekin will have to reduce their spending by similar proportions the sentiment may still apply.
So wouldnt it be better to just have ONE council for the whole of Shropshire?
Roger
I am coming round to the idea that Shrewsbury should be thinking about UDI as a single tier authority. The promised efficiencies of the Shropshire Unitary Authority seem to be creating more problems than it solving. The money reserved for renewing the baths has disappeared and the service outsourced. The incidence of stupid traffic management has grown out of control. The basic services that the council is there for are diminishing whilst the Tory Dictator drives his vision what he thinks is local democracy by being undemocratic. The management structure is politicised by higher allowance paid Tories. There is no Chief Executive to balance out the political aspirations. The Staff have been treated disgracefully and the promises made simply ignored. The end result is simply not what we expected and was a mistake. The strange thing is that I did not see these characteristics in the old County Council so it seems that the amalgamation has created a monster that benefits nobody except the leader of the council and a few of his mates.
Jelly
I think the residents of Telford and Wrekin would object to that Councillor - they have only just got rid of the Tory administration there.
Jelly
Isn't Newport in Telford and Wrekin?
ph7
This is Shropshire Council, not Telford and Wrekin
oh dear...
shame that Newport is dealt with by Telford and Wrekin then... try check your council tax bill before stupid comments