Budget Engagement

With the borough council needing to make difficult budget decisions and ensure a safe financial future, we are seeking your views on how best to balance books and protect services. 

The combination of consistently low funding from central government, high inflation and increasing resident needs means the council’s financial situation is as difficult as it has ever been – with savings needed this year and into the future. 

This challenge will require difficult decisions in the short term and innovative solutions to safeguard the council and its services in the long term. And the council is seeking views on how to meet that long-term challenge. 

We want your views on the principles by which the council will make its financial decisions, about long-term changes that could be made and about ways in which the community could help save taxpayers money.

The principles being consulted on are: 

• Our primary objective will be to maintain sounds finances so we avoid becoming insolvent as other councils have done
• When making budget decisions we will prioritise those people who need us most
• We will generate income through increasing universal charges and through sensible long-term investments. We do this to minimise the need to reduce services and to prioritise support for those who need us most.
• We will introduce or increase charges for services to cover shortfalls only after careful consideration of impact and necessary consultation
• We will only reduce services as a last resort, after considering alternative ways they could be provided
• To safeguard our financial future, we will modernise the way we provide services by working with partners to maximise our joint resources 

Please note you will need to login or register for a free account to participate in the survey.

If you need help filling in this survey, you can complete the survey over the phone by calling our Customer Services Team on (0118) 974 6000. You can also request a paper copy of the survey by completing our contact form on our website.

This survey will close on 3 November 2023.