PRIORITISE OUR POUNDS

A public consultation to help finalise the Council's 2012/13 budget.

Plymouth City Council provides more than 300 services for 258,700 people. We have set ourselves ambitious targets for ongoing efficiency savings to make sure your council tax bills are kept low and services are maintained and improved.

We spend over £600 million on delivering services annually to the public through our revenue budget. Over 75 per cent of this is funded by the Government through a range of grants, which may come with restrictions on how the money can be spent.Your council tax money contributes 16 per cent of the total budget each year. In addition, we get funds to cover capital costs such as new buildings and roads, but these are not part of this consultation. To find out more about Council services and how we spend our money please go to our how we spend your money page.

In 2010 after the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review, we knew we would have to make significant savings and so we set an ambitious target to save in the region of £30 million over three years. We are currently working hard to deliver savings of £13 million, this will increase by a further £8 million next year, which will be a total saving of £21 million. We are looking to reach our target of £30 million in our third year.

However, the future of Local Government funding is still uncertain and Central Government Grant funding has only been confirmed with certainty for the first two years. Beyond this time we are still awaiting clarity, but are planning ahead to year three to ensure we are prepared. Within these financial restraints, we remain committed to our strategy to reduce costs whilst maintaining or improving service quality.

Last year we asked you to tell us which service areas were important to you by increasing or decreasing the amount of money spent; how we could generate more income and where you thought efficiencies could be made. Your views helped us to develop the three year budget plan which included the £30 million savings.

In 2010 you said

• You would like to see more budget reductions in support areas (back-office functions).
• You would like to see fewer reductions in Children's Services and Education.
• Generate more income by hiring out Council buildings, charging more for Planning and Building Control Services and increasing parking controls and enforcement.
• Join up internal support services and reduce the number of buildings we use to save money.

We are

• Reducing spending on support functions by 40 per cent, including administration and amalgamating functions wherever possible.
• Protecting front line services for Children and Young People by only reducing the budgets by six per cent over the three-year period.
• Raising income through increased fees and charges in some areas, such as parking.
• Improving the way we commission and buy goods and services to get better value for the Council and its customers.
• Reducing accommodation costs by reducing the number of buildings used by the Council and changing working practices.
• Investigating options for external organisations and the private sector to take over the running of some facilities.
• Increasing efficiency and improving customer service by directing more calls through the Council’s customer contact centre.
• Reducing spending on subscriptions to external bodies and reducing printing, publicity and advertising costs across all Council services.