Firstly, positive because of the achievements this Council has worked towards over the past 9 months, from investing over £700k in social workers, £200k to tackling domestic violence in the Borough and nearly a million pounds supporting residents and families who have been made homeless.
However, I also have negative emotions because of the scale of budget reduction which this Council has a duty to pass following the huge cuts imposed on our community by central Government. My colleagues and I take no pleasure whatsoever in passing millions and millions and millions of cuts onto our community which have been forced on us as a Council.
Over 50% of the savings laid out in the budget are back office savings and efficiencies, through cutting managers and sharing services with other councils. The budget also contains an additional £2.5m of income already predicted from our ambitious regeneration plans that are just getting underway, with resident engagement and building social and affordable homes at the heart of this.
Despite this, we have still had to make tough decisions, and we will be working with residents, local businesses and the voluntary and community sector over the coming months to protect our most vulnerable residents from the worst of these cuts.
