Tough choices - next steps

Our budget consultation closed on 23 January.  The final budget setting report will be considered by the Executive on February 1 and your responses and the issues you raised will help inform their final decisions.  They will then recommend the 2012-13 budget and council tax level for this year to the Full Council, which meets on February 20.

Leader of the Council, Stephen Carr, said:  "Thank you to all those who sent contributions to the budget consultation about the £30 million savings to be made over the next three years in addition to the £22 million we had to make last year.  Below is an overview of the responses received as of December 2011 and the key themes covered at each of our Tough choices public meetings held last November, which were attended by over 600 residents."

At the end of this page there are questions and answers about the council's finances.  Many of the issues covered were raised at the public meetings.

Before the meetings, the Leader of the Council, Stephen Carr wrote an open letter to the people of Bromley talking about the unprecedented budget savings and the financial challenges the council faces and inviting your views. 

You can still give any views about the budget to your ward councillor or through attending council meetings until the Executive meeting on February 1 when the final 2012-13 budget recommendations will be made.

About the council's finances

How much is the council's net budget and how much does it have to save?

  • The council has a net budget of £200 million
  • We have to save more than £30 million over the next three years
  • This is in addition to the £22 million we saved last year
  • So in total we will be saving £50 million over a four year period, almost a quarter of our net budget

Where does the council spend its money?

  • There are a whole range of services that the council provides with the majority, 85%, being spend on four frontline service areas
  • £88 million is spent on providing adult services from care assessment to home care, from support for those with physical disabilities to those with learning disabilities
  • £32 million is for children and young people and this includes safeguarding and social care, special education needs services, behavioural support and early years support
  • £40 million is spent on the environment such as waste services, street cleaning, traffic and road safety and maintaining our parks and green spaces
  • £11 million goes to renewal and recreation covering things like our library service, regenerating and managing our town centres and our planning services
  • The remaining net budget covers things like maintaining our customer services, our revenue and benefits service and our information systems

How does the way we are funded affect our budget?

  • Bromley had to face the biggest reduction in Formula Grant of £14.3% in 2011/12 and a further 10.4% in 2012/13
  • £28 million of Government Grants will have been cut by 2015/16 in addition to £14 million in 2011/12
  • Bromley has one of the lowest levels of Formula and other grants from government.  The two combined, formula grant and other grants, gave us £297 per head of population in 2011/12 compared to the average in London of £656.  The highest is £1,220.  Based on a population of 315,000 if we received the average level of combined grant funding for London our income would increase by approximately £110 million.
  • Because we are on what is known as the 'grant floor' we did not receive additional national support announced last year towards social care and this meant we lost a further £3 million in funding

What are the service pressures that the council faces?

  • There is growing demand for services relating to our older population, which is growing faster than the national average and many have complex needs relating to dementia, physical frailty and disabilities
  • The number of young people in our community with learning disabilities moving into adulthood is increasing
  • The cost of landfill and future related costs is escalating
  • There are increasing numbers of children and young people in residential care with special needs
    Carbon Tax is expected to increase further

Are there any other issues that are costing the council more money?

  • The 2012/13 budget assumes inflation at 4.5% for contracted related expenditure compared to the current inflation level of 5.7% (Inflation Retain Prices Index)
  • Interest rates are low at between 0.9% and 1.7% and our expected income from this for 2011/12 is £3.1 million, compared to £9.8 million in 2008/09
  • The government is taking the national average that it costs to fund each pupil and giving it to the school academies.  Bromley spends less that the national average so this means we will lose more money 
  • We have the second lowest Council Tax in outer London.  If our Council Tax was the average of the 5 other low grant funded authorities our income would increase by £30 million
  • There is uncertainty about the funding of the public health responsibilities councils will take on from 2013
  • The cost of administering Freedom Passes and the amount they are used is increasing - the council currently spends £8.8 million on Freedom Passes
  • Fuel costs are increasing at a level significantly higher than inflation
  • A high proportion of the council's spend relates to contracts which can limit flexibility to change spend levels as well as providing greater inflation pressures

What is the council's strategy for setting its budget for 2012 -13?

All our services are being reviewed and scrutinised for possible savings.  However, we are a low spending council and it is very challenging to find further efficiency savings and what are known as 'back office' savings.

  • Work is underway to share the management of our library service with Bexley saving over £350k
  • We have cut staffing costs saving over £3 million
  • We are currently in discussions with Croydon and Bexley councils to look at other areas for shared services
  • Debt collection rates are being improved
  • We are reviewing our priorities in terms of spending
  • We are continuing to invest in initiatives and projects that can save us money in the future
  • Our contracts are under close scrutiny and where appropriate are renegotiated to maximise value for money

Will you continue to support the voluntary sector?

  • Yes - we are the lowest spending, per head of population, council in London.  Volunteering is a way of life for many of our residents and we work closely with the voluntary sector to ensure services are delivered as cost effectively as possible.  However, unlike many authorities we do not give grants to voluntary organisations but use their invaluable expertise by contracting with them to provide our services. 
  • As such, we monitor these contracts and the service level agreements we negotiate as we would with any provider to make sure our residents get the quality of service we are contracting for them.  So we will negotiate the best deal for our residents and as with any provider if a voluntary organisation does not deliver what has been contracted we will look at alternative providers
  • For instance we commission Bromley Age UK and Bromley Mencap to provide a brokerage service to support older people and those with learning disability to access their needs and find the right services for them.  We also work with and fund Carers Bromley to provide support services in recognition of the invaluable role carers play in providing support and care for loved ones. 
  • Also, our residents are prepared to step up to the mark in many other ways to keep our borough a good place to live.  Our 'Snow Friends' are local people who volunteer to clear snow and ice in their street, by working with a local community group or residents association, in partnership with us.  Friends of the Park groups are made up of volunteers who wish to have a say in how their local parks are maintained, developed and used and they organised entertainment and conservation activities in our local parks.

We will continue to work with closely with the voluntary sector, with community groups and with our residents to help focus our resources where they are most needed.

Will you have to cut services?

  • We are now at a stage where together we have to take a long hard look at what services we can do without and what services must be provided radically differently.  However, we are trying to protect frontline services wherever possible and are reviewing each one of our services and how they are provided to find the best way to deliver them to ensure the maximum value for money and quality of service

There will be a report to the Executive on 11 January 2011, which will provide an update on the 2012-13 draft budget as well as a financial forecast for future years. This will also cover updated saving proposals to help meet the budget gap.  A further updated report will be provided to the following Executive on 1 February 2011.  The Council Tax and budget will be set on 20 February 2011.