Council confirms £8.2m cuts for coming year

But West Berkshire Council expenditure is set to increase

WEST Berkshire Council is spending more this year, despite a £8.2 million cut in its revenue from the government.

Despite the national council tax freeze hitting its coffers, and the reduction of central government grants, the increase of homes in the district paying council tax has enabled the authority to increase its 2011-12 budget net spend to £123.7m, which is around three per cent up on last year.

With the official numbers expected later today (Wednesday), leader of the council, Graham Jones (Con, Lambourn) gave a media briefing yesterday which explained how the council had unveiled a series of drawn-out savings over the last nine months to minimise the impact of brutal funding cuts from the coalition government over the next four years.

A £4.4 million saving has been made by the axing of 180 jobs. The first wave of these had been announced in July 2010. The council has reduced what it calls “support staff” to reduce expenditure on workforce.

Chief executive of the council Nick Carter said it was too early to comment on the future as more savings would have to be made longer term, but no job losses were announced yesterday.

Youth services has had £250,000 axed from its budget, and a £250,000 saving has been made by moving West Berkshire's CCTV system to Windsor.

Transport to church-aided schools, civil enforcement officers, countryside and parks maintenance, health promotion, and travel plan promotion for staff and schools have also been reduced.

There will be an increased spend on adult social care with an investment of £3.2m, and an increase in children's social care by £250,000, as the council shifts the way it looks after an increasing number of elderly people in the district.

The closure of five day centres, Hillcroft House for people with mental health difficulties in Thatcham, Downlands Day Centre for Older People, in Compton, Windmill Court Day Centre for Older People, in Mortimer, Shaw Day Centre for older people, in Newbury, and the Ormonde centre for people with physical disabilities in Newbury, has enabled the authority to save £2m.

Personal budgets are introduced to help those in need plan and pay for their own care.

Whereas nationally libraries are under threat, Mr Jones said he was pleased to announced the nine libraries in the district and the two mobile libraries would remain open.

An extra £3.2m will be also spent on road surfacing.

Mr Jones and the council's executive member for finance, Keith Chopping (Con, Sulhampstead) admitted that targeting certain areas had been “difficult”, but they were pleased the impact on front-line services had been minimised.

Mr Jones said: “We are living in difficult times and we realise that the government has had to take action. We have been given a lot of new freedom for looking forward, losing ring-fenced grants means we are now free to make many of our own decisions. Five to six years ago West Berkshire was one of the lowest performing authorities in the region, and now it is the highest performing.”