Council Budgets

Council Tax has been frozen or kept as low as possible for residents over the past seven years but we are now, like all other councils, facing the national social care crisis.

In 2017/18 Council Tax will rise by 1.99 per cent. The only option open to the Council is to accept the Government’s response to the national social care crisis and introduce a further 3 per cent social care levy which represents a 66p a week increase for a Band D taxpayer.

The money raised through this levy is used solely to fund adult social care, which is needed to help and support our most vulnerable residents in a time of ever increasing financial pressure.

The overall impact after allowing for an increase in the GLA’s payment is that Council Tax will go up by 4.3 per cent which equates to £60.87 a year for a Band D taxpayer. By increasing Council Tax we will be able to continue to deliver the services residents rely on every day.

Agenda for Council meeting on Thursday, 23rd February

Housing

• Review of housing revenue account finances and HRA Budget 2017 to 2018 - 2019 to 2020

The financial decision

• Revenue and capital budget 2017 to 2018 - 2021 to 2022 and Council Tax 2017 to 2018

• Medium term financial forecast 2016/2018 to 2021/2022 and budget process
• Budget forecast - revenue and capital 2017 to 2018 onwards
• Cabinet's budget report 2017 to 2018
• Capital and revenue budget and Council Tax 2017 to 2018 
• Annual review of reserves 

Treasury management report

• Treasury Management Strategy 

Like other councils, we're facing an unprecedented financial challenge. Due to Government cuts, increased demand for our services and inflationary pressures, we have to save a further £30.3 million in the next 5 years.

As we look for ways to reduce spend, we listened to the views of our residents.

In October 2016, we carried out a number of budget focus groups. These sessions helped us to learn more about residents' feelings and experiences of the Council and to find out what services were most important to them.

1. People were recruited to reflect the population of Redbridge. In total, 8 workshops were held and 163 residents took part, with 1 session held with members of our Youth Council
2. Participants were asked to discuss their priorities for local services, the services that they thought should be protected from savings and the lower priorities which could be reduced
3. We discussed where the community could be more directly involved with service delivery and how changing peoples' behaviour could reduce costs for the Council e.g. waste minimisation, healthier lifestyles or using preventative services
4. Residents welcomed the opportunity to give their views on how the Council could reduce its spend. Many were aware that Redbridge, as with many councils, faced budget challenges but very few had prior knowledge of the size of the deficit
5. Finding savings was very challenging, as almost everything that the Council does was seen as an important service to support a reasonable quality of life. Participants also frequently said they felt they needed more information about the rationale for each service area and its budget to make a more confident judgement
6. By reviewing the services and spend across the different parts of the Council, residents suggested where services should be protected and which services could find savings

View the report with the full results of the budget focus groups

A major transformation programme is in place to change the way in which we operate, and is delivering significant efficiency savings. This programme is transforming our services to meet the needs of our residents and businesses as well as reducing costs to meet the shortfall in resources.

We're using new technology to save money. We've launched a Customer Access Programme to improve the experience residents have when they need to access our services while making significant efficiencies. Residents have been taking advantage of new and improved online registrars and cleansing services and more online services are launching soon.

Services are being redesigned to make them more efficient and we are working very hard to provide more services online.

Improving our services:

• residents are able to access a wide and increasing range of services on the Council’s website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year, resulting in significant savings
• our telephone systems have been rationalised to make it easier for residents
• we are undertaking a fundamental review of our back office functions to cut duplication and more waste from the back office
• all opportunities to change the way our services operate to create more efficiencies are being explored
• we are reorganising the way we work internally and are developing opportunities to generate income
• we are conducting a review of all of our contracts across the Council to get the best deal and save money
• we are reducing the number of our buildings and savings are being made year on year by improving debt collection across a range of income streams including Council Tax and Business Rates

In recent years, the Government has significantly cut funding to local authorities to fund Council Tax reduction schemes.

The Council is facing unprecedented financial pressures and has to make very significant budget savings.

We are working to balance our duty to provide an affordable Council Tax reduction scheme that is fair to residents on low incomes, with providing services for all Council Tax payers. If we do not increase the amount we ask people to pay, we would have to find the money from other sources, for example, by reducing services. 

1. For 2017 to 2018, the proposal is to reduce the maximum Council Tax Support to 80% of liability
2. If a claimant or their partner receive any form of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, the household will continue to receive up to 85% Council Tax reduction in 2017 to 2018
3. Claimants who are pensioners will continue to receive up to 100% Council Tax reduction
4. A £300,000 Discretionary Hardship Fund reserve will help provide support for people who are experiencing severe financial hardship