Bristol City Council readying to set new budget
It's the last to be overseen by outgoing Labour mayor Marvin Rees whose role is being scrapped from May
Last updated 5th Sep 2024
Bristol City Council will set its annual budget on Tuesday, February 20, the last to be overseen by outgoing Labour mayor Marvin Rees whose role is being scrapped from May.
His administration’s spending plans include £24million of cutbacks, a 4.99 per cent council tax rise, £9million from Clean Air Zone charges to pay for subsidised buses and roadworks, increases in register office fees and less money for signage and wayfinding information.
Local authorities are required by law to set balanced budgets, but opposition groups can suggest changes and additional investment in some areas as long as the money is found from cuts elsewhere totalling the same amount.
These are called budget amendments. The Lib Dems have tabled one to the full council meeting, while there are none from the Greens – a decision that has come under fire – or Knowle Community Party.
The Conservatives have tabled three sets of amendments. Here is what they would do with your council taxpayer money.
The first of two revenue budget amendments, which deal with day-to-day spending on council services, include a £1.9million cut in the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) benefits that reduce bills for the poorest families.
The Labour administration made a U-turn in November and scrapped a plan to slash £3million from the help it gives following huge opposition and a campaign by community union ACORN.
But the Tories’ proposals would reinstate about two-thirds of the savings by introducing a 10 per cent flat rate reduction in support for working-age households from April 2025, with the money redirected to the stretched housing, planning and neighbourhood enforcement teams.
A council officer’s assessment in a report to full council said this would mean 22,628 families paying an extra £154.83 more on average a year, which would “align Bristol more closely with the provisions made by other local authorities”.
A total of £100,000 raised through this would almost double the capacity of the planning enforcement team, £150,000 to hire three new housing advisers to tackle homelessness and raise standards in temporary accommodation, and £100,000 for two neighbourhood enforcement officers focusing on catching and fining fly-tippers.
Another £45,000 would be spent introducing a traffic regulation order on Durdham Downs to ban overnight camping at the roadside.
The Conservatives claim many residents feel intimidated by increasing numbers of van-dwellers who leave litter and even human excrement in the area because it does not have sufficient facilities.
A total of £450,000 would be invested in parks and £105,000 to reduce the cost of bulky household waste collections from £25 for three items and £50 for six to £18 and £35 respectively.
The group’s second amendment reduces spending in council ‘bureaucracy’ – a total of £320,000 between the international affairs team, public relations, and policy and strategy – and using Clean Air Zone income to fund more subsidised buses and road improvements.
It also reverses some cuts to social services and youth provision, including short care breaks and mentoring, as well as stopping controversial proposed allotment charges and postponing district car parking charges.
The Tories’ capital amendment redirects £700,000 of developer contributions, called community infrastructure levy, to parks and refurbishing children’s playgrounds.
Cllr Weston admitted it would be an ‘uphill struggle’ to convince other parties in the chamber to back the CTRS cuts but that there was an ‘ineluctable need’ to change the system because the current costs – £43.4million this year – were unsustainable.
He said: “Despite the tight timescales, my colleagues have come up with an attractive package of savings and spending which I believe will resonate positively with most Bristolians.
“For example, more money for housing, planning, neighbourhood enforcement, supporting buses, ditching allotment charges and investing in our parks and play equipment.
“As such, I am very much looking forward to making the case for this reallocation of resources and for the public to see where each of their local elected representatives’ spending priorities lie.”