A public consultation into Cornwall Council’s draft budget for 2022/23 has begun after the plans were endorsed by the Cabinet committee at County Hall in Truro this morning.
The proposals, which would see council tax rise by 2.99%, the equivalent of 96p per week for a Band D property, protect crucial frontline services for residents.
They include £1.3 billion of capital investment, including support for economic growth projects that create homes and jobs for local people and reflect the priorities of residents.
Plans include:
- For a brilliant place to grow up and be a child - investing for the future of children and young people in Cornwall with £93 million to provide 550 new school places and repair school buildings
- For vibrant safe and supportive communities - significant £45.5 million extra investment in adult social care services. We will invest for the future with £29 million for projects including providing our communities with warm, dry and energy efficient homes and investment in our fire and rescue service through a targeted appliance replacement programme.
- For a thriving sustainable Cornwall - investing for the future of communities with just over £1.1 billion to support economic growth projects that create homes and jobs for local people, allowing the Council to lever in additional funding from external investors and also roll out a new waste service; and
- For an empowering and enterprising organisation, investing for the future with £54 million for projects to put the Council at the forefront of modern, flexible, low carbon ways of working, maintaining and transforming our office estate.
The majority of savings will come from reducing the amount the Council spends on contracts and through proposed workforce reductions.
The plans will now be available for comment for the next six weeks.
They will then come back to Cabinet before a final budget is considered by the full council in February.
Introducing the draft proposals to cabinet, Cllr David Harris, deputy leader and portfolio holder for resources, said: “The draft budget that we have presented today represents some really tough decisions.
“Although there will be some reduction in services, it is important to remember that we still spend £1.2bn of your money on behalf of Cornwall with a further £1.3bn capital investment in Cornwall’s future and that we have done all we can to protect our vital front-line services.
“We will use the forthcoming weeks to ensure that that budget proposals are consulted upon widely and to further develop our thinking given what you have told us. Recommendation 1 requests that the new draft Council Business Plan and draft budget proposals are approved to form the basis of this public consultation on the budget to be launched today.
“This will allow us to deliver a legally balanced budget in February which is as fair to residents as possible and whilst protecting front line services.
“In summary, this is a draft budget for Cornwall, focussed on our new priorities, with difficult decisions taken in light of unheralded financial pressures, while protecting frontline services and maintaining value for money for our residents.”
Take part in the survey on Let’s Talk Cornwall
The survey will close on 23 January, 2022.
Anyone who can’t access the online survey can call 0300 1234 100 and request for a hard copy to be sent out to them.
As well as asking all residents to give us their views via the survey we will be holding a roundtable event for stakeholders about the draft budget early in the new year and we will continue to reach out to groups who are ‘seldom heard’ to ask for their views about our Business Plan and priorities.
This will include working with our partners to get the views of disabled people, members of the LGBTQi+ community, people in social housing and those with learning disabilities as many more.
Posted 08 December, 2021