The Group has committed itself to proposing a tax increase no bigger than last year’s 4.8% - and ideally lower. This means making significant savings, given that the cost pressures of providing services tend to rise faster than the increases in Government grant. In addition, Leo Thomson as our new Leader is looking for improvements in a number of key services and areas, which will mean finding further savings that can be recycled to fund these higher priorities.
Leo Thomson promoting 'Book Week' - the Council spends £5.7 million per year on libraries
We’ve agreed to support savings of £21.6 million of which officers estimate that 86% are efficiencies, 8% are extra income, and 6% are cuts in lower priority services. This leaves an estimated gap of around £8 million, depending on the final Government grant settlement, decisions by other bodies on their charges (such as waste disposal), and on the feasibility of other savings options that officers are examining.
The highest single saving is £1.3 million of extra income from Gordon Brown’s Local Authority Business Growth Scheme, which gives local Councils a share of the extra business rates income that they generate for the government by their regeneration activities. The full list of agreed savings can be seen on the Council website at http://www.ealing.gov.uk/council/committees/cabinet/17may2005-22may2006/item18-budgetstrategyappendixc.pdf
The final budget and consequent Council Tax level will be set on 7th March, although we’ll be considering further growth and savings all through January and February. However, the key decision is out of our hands – the government grant announcement due in late January/early February. It’s important to remember that nearly three-quarters of Council income is from grant and payments from the Government rather than council tax. This means that even small changes in the Government formulas are likely to have big effects on LB Ealing’s finances. If you see David Miliband, put in a word for us ...
1 comment:
Phil, good to see one of our local councillors with a blog. Having followed Clive Soley's version you need to be wary of topic obsessed contributers, he had Iran, you may have the tram. For the time being it is fairly quiet. I found it from a post on Acton W3.
Local events and promoting the council are one thing but will you ever get more adventurous in your posts?
Elections are in May and the council are under pressure from the Gazette and there does seem to be an end of the century feel to the administration....
Response, Directors leaving, the Tram, development (esp. in Acton Vale) etc etc.
Labour need to be fighting back, your blog could be a leader?
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