This is my first budget since becoming Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, and it could not be a harder time to balance the books.
I believe we have a budget that balances the need to protect the most needy and vulnerable in the county, with our ambition to see Oxfordshire continue to thrive through hard work and economic growth.
Before I talk you through the budget, I would like to thank the finance team, along with the Directors and their departmental teams. They have all worked exceptionally hard this year, particularly given the late announcement of the figures.
I would also like to thank Cllr Shouler who started this budget off when he was Cabinet member for Finance; unfortunately ill health prevented him from continuing in the role. I wish him all the best for the future. He will be greatly missed at the council.
This budget is set against a back drop of reduced funding and significant changes to local authorities funding. There is the localisation of council tax support, and changes in funding for schools and education services. The responsibility for public health is also coming back to local government.
My predecessor, Cllr Mitchell, left a legacy of a financially sound council and I would like to pay tribute to his leadership over 10 years.
When I first became a County Councillor in 2005 we were dealing with Council Tax rises of over 4% and worked hard to deliver an increase of less.
Today I am proud to deliver a budget with an increase of less than 2% without any additional support from central government..
The proposed increase of 1.99% is 44p per week for a band D property; this is below current inflation levels.
We appreciate that our residents, whether individuals, families or pensioners are feeling the squeeze but we believe that 44p per week to ensure we maintain our services to protect the most vulnerable in our society can be justified, preventing even more deeper cuts in future years.
For 2014/15 we have planned for an increase in council tax of 2.5% and for future years we have maintained increases at 3.75% in line with the current medium term financial plan.
This Cabinet has considered the comments of individual Scrutiny Committees, as well as feedback from the public consultation through the Oxfordshire Voice Panel in October and November 2012.
Three-quarters of the panel thought a below inflation increase was acceptable.
I would like to say that the coming years will be easier. However due to the economic climate we have another £46 million of savings to make. This will bring the total from 2010 to 2017 to £200 million.
Some of the savings will be re-invested in our priority areas. We continue to manage pressures from our ageing population and the increased demands on our children's care service. We will be putting £13.7m of our savings back into the most important areas of our services in 2013/14 which is on top of the £45.9m reinvested since 2011/12.
The Cabinet continues to protect front line children’s safeguarding services along with the Fire & Rescue Service with savings in those areas to be achieved only through genuine efficiency.
The vast majority of children grow up in safe, happy homes but a few are not so lucky. We are doing everything we can do prevent children being exploited and working closely with the police to bring anyone who does exploit children to justice. We have said clearly that we will never give up on a child.
Children’s social care has always been a service this council has protected from cuts. Sadly there has been a steep rise in referrals over recent years leading to larger caseloads. We will invest an additional £1.4m to recruit additional experienced child protection professionals to protect the most vulnerable young people.
There are 44 Children’s Centres across Oxfordshire. These have been funded through the Early Intervention Grant, which is being reduced nationally. We are not proposing to close any centres, but will review their management and support structures, to protect the front line service.
Adult Social Care accounts for 40% of our spend, and pressures on this budget will continue to grow too. We will continue to provide care for the most needy and vulnerable, and make it as easy as possible for everyone to get the care and support they need to live healthy, independent lives. As this is such a large proportion of our spend we must also reduce costs.
We are investing an additional £10.3m in 2013/14, although some of this is for the short term. These investments are spread across services for older people and people with physical disabilities.
We have received some additional income coming from the NHS, as the government have recognised that the NHS should be protected. But unless health and Adult Social Care are considered together, real savings cannot be made. We will work to reduce people's need for care by intervening early and in the right way.
We are pleased to see public health returning to local government. We now have the opportunity to shape public health services ourselves over the coming years.
This year’s budget includes health expenditure, with a ring-fenced government grant, which has been confirmed for 2013/14 and 2014/15 at £25.3m and £26.1m respectively.
Highway maintenance is another budget saving, but we have done everything we can to reduce the impact. We recognise its importance to the economy and are reinstating a previously planned reduction.
We hope to offset this using the Area Stewardship Fund through one-off funding in the future. Our plan is to change the way the fund has operated, keeping the knowledge of local members, but restricting the use of the fund to maintenance.
Efficient public transport is vital to Oxfordshire’s economy. I am pleased to announce one off funding of £50,000 to come from the Efficiency Reserve in 2013/14 so that we can develop improved and joined up technical solutions to paying for journeys across Oxfordshire and beyond.
We will be working closely with the bus and rail companies along with the city and districts to enable residents to move easily around the county encouraging them to use public transport.
We are no longer going to be able to provide free day-time parking at our park and ride sites. We recognise that the public will find this hard, although it will remove the confusion caused by the city council already charging at their sites. We will consult over the level of increase with a view to introducing the charges from the Autumn.
Economic growth is vital. I am pleased to inform the council that our Oxford and Oxfordshire City has been accepted as one of 20 successful city regions. The bid was centered on the universities and the key science growth areas of Culham and Harwell.
The bid is supported by the Local Enterprise Partnership and all district councils. We want to improve the infrastructure across the county enabling spin out companies from the universities to grow and remain within Oxfordshire, as well as encourage new firms to locate here.
As part of our commitment to economic growth, we have allocated £100,000 for the next three years to increase the county council’s capacity to pursue growth opportunities with our partners in the public and private sector.
I expect this money will bring in many times that investment into the county to enable new and existing companies to invest in Oxfordshire and create jobs. We are getting the message out there that Oxfordshire is open for business.
We can also make savings on our waste disposal responsibilities, with sound procurement, and the phased removal of non-statutory incentives for waste targets.
We want our Customer Service Centre to offer the best response to the public, and are therefore not making any cuts in that area.
Given the changing relationship with schools though, we feel it is now the right time to phase out the subsidy we have been providing for their back office support.
Despite the financial situation I’m pleased to announce that capital investment over the next four years will be £352 million. Included in this is approximately £70 million to be invested in the transport network.
On top of this funding the creation of the Local Transport Board will bring an additional £16 million that we can determine locally where it's best spent. There will be capital spending of £153 million on schools over the next four years, to ensure that we provide the best possible start to children so that they can achieve their potential.
The military are important to Oxfordshire. We were the first county to sign the military covenant. We work closely with the RAF, the district and town councils and voluntary organisations to carry out repatriations to RAF Brize Norton with dignity and respect. I am particularly pleased that we have been able to continue the funding of £100,000 we have made available in the past four years to ensure the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of service personnel and their families.
The Big Society Fund was introduced in 2011/12 and changed into a Councillor Community Budget in 2012/13. Throughout the budget process I have said how good it has been at delivering local projects. I am pleased to announce that the scheme will be extended for another year. This will be £10,000 per councillor and will be funded from the Efficiency Reserve in 2013/14 to allow local councillors to make local decisions for their divisions.
We have balanced the need to protect the most needy and vulnerable in the county, with our ambition to see Oxfordshire continue to thrive through hard work and economic growth.
I commend this budget to the chamber.
This is my first budget since becoming Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, and it could not be a harder time to balance the books.
I believe we have a budget that balances the need to protect the most needy and vulnerable in the county, with our ambition to see Oxfordshire continue to thrive through hard work and economic growth.
Before I talk you through the budget, I would like to thank the finance team, along with the Directors and their departmental teams. They have all worked exceptionally hard this year, particularly given the late announcement of the figures.
I would also like to thank Cllr Shouler who started this budget off when he was Cabinet member for Finance; unfortunately ill health prevented him from continuing in the role. I wish him all the best for the future. He will be greatly missed at the council.
This budget is set against a back drop of reduced funding and significant changes to local authorities funding. There is the localisation of council tax support, and changes in funding for schools and education services. The responsibility for public health is also coming back to local government.
My predecessor, Cllr Mitchell, left a legacy of a financially sound council and I would like to pay tribute to his leadership over 10 years.
When I first became a County Councillor in 2005 we were dealing with Council Tax rises of over 4% and worked hard to deliver an increase of less.
Today I am proud to deliver a budget with an increase of less than 2% without any additional support from central government..
The proposed increase of 1.99% is 44p per week for a band D property; this is below current inflation levels.
We appreciate that our residents, whether individuals, families or pensioners are feeling the squeeze but we believe that 44p per week to ensure we maintain our services to protect the most vulnerable in our society can be justified, preventing even more deeper cuts in future years.
For 2014/15 we have planned for an increase in council tax of 2.5% and for future years we have maintained increases at 3.75% in line with the current medium term financial plan.
This Cabinet has considered the comments of individual Scrutiny Committees, as well as feedback from the public consultation through the Oxfordshire Voice Panel in October and November 2012.
Three-quarters of the panel thought a below inflation increase was acceptable.
I would like to say that the coming years will be easier. However due to the economic climate we have another £46 million of savings to make. This will bring the total from 2010 to 2017 to £200 million.
Some of the savings will be re-invested in our priority areas. We continue to manage pressures from our ageing population and the increased demands on our children's care service. We will be putting £13.7m of our savings back into the most important areas of our services in 2013/14 which is on top of the £45.9m reinvested since 2011/12.
The Cabinet continues to protect front line children’s safeguarding services along with the Fire & Rescue Service with savings in those areas to be achieved only through genuine efficiency.
The vast majority of children grow up in safe, happy homes but a few are not so lucky. We are doing everything we can do prevent children being exploited and working closely with the police to bring anyone who does exploit children to justice. We have said clearly that we will never give up on a child.
Children’s social care has always been a service this council has protected from cuts. Sadly there has been a steep rise in referrals over recent years leading to larger caseloads. We will invest an additional £1.4m to recruit additional experienced child protection professionals to protect the most vulnerable young people.
There are 44 Children’s Centres across Oxfordshire. These have been funded through the Early Intervention Grant, which is being reduced nationally. We are not proposing to close any centres, but will review their management and support structures, to protect the front line service.
Adult Social Care accounts for 40% of our spend, and pressures on this budget will continue to grow too. We will continue to provide care for the most needy and vulnerable, and make it as easy as possible for everyone to get the care and support they need to live healthy, independent lives. As this is such a large proportion of our spend we must also reduce costs.
We are investing an additional £10.3m in 2013/14, although some of this is for the short term. These investments are spread across services for older people and people with physical disabilities.
We have received some additional income coming from the NHS, as the government have recognised that the NHS should be protected. But unless health and Adult Social Care are considered together, real savings cannot be made. We will work to reduce people's need for care by intervening early and in the right way.
We are pleased to see public health returning to local government. We now have the opportunity to shape public health services ourselves over the coming years.
This year’s budget includes health expenditure, with a ring-fenced government grant, which has been confirmed for 2013/14 and 2014/15 at £25.3m and £26.1m respectively.
Highway maintenance is another budget saving, but we have done everything we can to reduce the impact. We recognise its importance to the economy and are reinstating a previously planned reduction.
We hope to offset this using the Area Stewardship Fund through one-off funding in the future. Our plan is to change the way the fund has operated, keeping the knowledge of local members, but restricting the use of the fund to maintenance.
Efficient public transport is vital to Oxfordshire’s economy. I am pleased to announce one off funding of £50,000 to come from the Efficiency Reserve in 2013/14 so that we can develop improved and joined up technical solutions to paying for journeys across Oxfordshire and beyond.
We will be working closely with the bus and rail companies along with the city and districts to enable residents to move easily around the county encouraging them to use public transport.
We are no longer going to be able to provide free day-time parking at our park and ride sites. We recognise that the public will find this hard, although it will remove the confusion caused by the city council already charging at their sites. We will consult over the level of increase with a view to introducing the charges from the Autumn.
Economic growth is vital. I am pleased to inform the council that our Oxford and Oxfordshire City has been accepted as one of 20 successful city regions. The bid was centered on the universities and the key science growth areas of Culham and Harwell.
The bid is supported by the Local Enterprise Partnership and all district councils. We want to improve the infrastructure across the county enabling spin out companies from the universities to grow and remain within Oxfordshire, as well as encourage new firms to locate here.
As part of our commitment to economic growth, we have allocated £100,000 for the next three years to increase the county council’s capacity to pursue growth opportunities with our partners in the public and private sector.
I expect this money will bring in many times that investment into the county to enable new and existing companies to invest in Oxfordshire and create jobs. We are getting the message out there that Oxfordshire is open for business.
We can also make savings on our waste disposal responsibilities, with sound procurement, and the phased removal of non-statutory incentives for waste targets.
We want our Customer Service Centre to offer the best response to the public, and are therefore not making any cuts in that area.
Given the changing relationship with schools though, we feel it is now the right time to phase out the subsidy we have been providing for their back office support.
Despite the financial situation I’m pleased to announce that capital investment over the next four years will be £352 million. Included in this is approximately £70 million to be invested in the transport network.
On top of this funding the creation of the Local Transport Board will bring an additional £16 million that we can determine locally where it's best spent. There will be capital spending of £153 million on schools over the next four years, to ensure that we provide the best possible start to children so that they can achieve their potential.
The military are important to Oxfordshire. We were the first county to sign the military covenant. We work closely with the RAF, the district and town councils and voluntary organisations to carry out repatriations to RAF Brize Norton with dignity and respect. I am particularly pleased that we have been able to continue the funding of £100,000 we have made available in the past four years to ensure the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of service personnel and their families.
The Big Society Fund was introduced in 2011/12 and changed into a Councillor Community Budget in 2012/13. Throughout the budget process I have said how good it has been at delivering local projects. I am pleased to announce that the scheme will be extended for another year. This will be £10,000 per councillor and will be funded from the Efficiency Reserve in 2013/14 to allow local councillors to make local decisions for their divisions.
We have balanced the need to protect the most needy and vulnerable in the county, with our ambition to see Oxfordshire continue to thrive through hard work and economic growth.
I commend this budget to the chamber.
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