Council overcomes huge funding shortfall to set balanced budget

Plymouth City Council has set a balanced budget for 2023/24 after implementing an urgent plan to close a massive £37.6m gap in resources.

The full Council agreed a £218.4m million revenue budget for deliver more than 300 day-to-day Council services over the next year and a £591.5m five-year capital programme that invests in improving Plymouth’s transport network, creating jobs, providing affordable homes, improving health and education and tackling climate change.

Like all councils across the UK, Plymouth has faced huge budget pressures due national factors beyond its control, including rising inflation and huge increases in energy and fuel bills, as well as increased demand and cost pressures for statutory adult and children’s social care services.

To close the budget gap in its revenue budget the Council has agreed savings totalling £23 million, a Council Tax increase of 2.99 per cent for Council services and a further two per cent precept to help address rising demand and cost pressures in providing social care for the elderly and vulnerable.

Council Leader Richard Bingley said setting a balanced budget had been huge challenge in light of escalating costs over the last year.

He said: “This year we have been hit by unprecedented shortfalls in our resources due to national factors beyond our control – not least rising gas, electricity and fuel bills, along with big increases in demand and costs for social care.

“We’ve had to firmly grip this public finance emergency to ensure we fulfil our legal responsibility to set a balanced budget and avoid intervention by Government commissioners. We left no stone unturned to identify ways of reducing the shortfall and the process has involved having to make some extremely tough decisions to protect valued local services, including those that protect the most vulnerable in Plymouth.

“However, I am pleased that we have been able achieve a balanced and deliverable budget that not only maintains services that Plymouth residents value but also continues to deliver the priorities and ambitions for Plymouth, including helping create higher value jobs and providing more affordable housing – which due to the national cost of living crisis is more important ever.

“The work we have done – and will continue to do – will ensure both the Council we emerge from this difficult economic situation as a leaner and greener council that is more effective and efficient and that Plymouth will be well placed to grow and thrive as the national economy recovers.

“I would like to thank all councillors for their suggestions in enabling the final budget to be set by the full Council.

“This was an unprecedented and abnormal financial year and there was no way we wished to play party politics.

“The small amendment of an extra £1m out of a budget of £217.4m is in the larger scheme of things, an extra layer of support for Plymouth’s most vulnerable.”

Council Tax 2023/4