Protecting Plymouth, as we continue through and come out the other side of the pandemic must be a priority for the Council. This was the key message from the Council Leader last night.
At the Cabinet Meeting, Councillor Tudor Evans OBE emphasised the need for shrewd financial management of the Council’s budget, particularly as the pandemic is far from over, and the true impact to the council’s finances and indeed to the wider city, will not be known for some time.
He said: “In what has been an extremely difficult decade for local authorities, we have proved here in Plymouth that we are a prudent, financially well run Council. This is despite seeing huge slashes in our core funding from the Government. We received over £100million in 2011/12 and this year, we are only set to receive £10million.
“Yes we have received some Government funding to help cover the immediate costs of the pandemic – but this funding does not address the real and enduring social, health and economic impacts of the pandemic on the city. As the threat of COVID-19 is far from over, we won’t know the real costs for some time.
“But, we do know that when you consider the increased demand on our services, the loss of existing income streams such as, Council Tax, leisure centres charges, commercial rents and the Tamar Bridge toll, the reduction in our income is immense. The loss of our parking related revenue is almost £5.5million alone! Whilst the Government is giving us some compensation, it only covers 70 per cent of our losses.
At the meeting, Councillor Evans and his Cabinet colleagues, explained that whilst the money coming into the Council has declined, the impact on services has increased and is expected to continue to do so over the months ahead.
“The situation is fast moving. However, pressures on our services are at an all-time high – particularly in areas such as Adult Social Care and Children’s Services.
“We have more people than ever claiming Council Tax support, we have an increase in residents who are homeless or threatened with homelessness – with at least 2,760 people now needing our help. We have seen a rise in the number of residents who are furloughed or unemployed, around 3,586 vulnerable adults needing our social care support and since March we have seen significant increases in the number of children who are in care, costing over £4million a year.
“We must be braced for these numbers to rise. And we must prioritise our finances for those most in need.
“Therefore, our budget for the coming year considers all of this. It supports local people to be safe, whilst ensuring that our finances are sound.”