Concerns over Cornwall Council's budget as it tries to save £53m
It's claimed the authority needs to reduce demand for social services to balance the books
Cornwall Council’s chief finance officer says the authority needs to reduce demand for social services in order to balance its books.
The council is currently in the process of setting its budget for 2022/23 which includes plans to make savings of more than £53million and invest an extra £45m into adult social care.
However with pressure on frontline services such as social care increasing along with a rise in inflation councillors have been warned that the financial position is finely balanced.
All the budget plans have been considered by the council’s overview and scrutiny committees and today the customer and support services committee was debating them.
The budget proposals include a 2.99% increase in Cornwall Council’s share of council tax – a 1.99% general increase and an extra 1% which will go towards funding adult social care.
Tracie Langley, the council’s chief finance officer, was honest in her assessment of the council’s budget.
She explained: “The increase in adult social care (costs) has been £25m a year. We can’t keep making £25m of savings every year to make adult social care affordable. We do that through demand reduction strategies, which are crucial.”
The council has said there are four areas where demand is rising and, therefore, having an impact financially. These are adult social care, children and families, homelessness and waste.
To help plan for the future the council is looking to implement a “demand management financial strategy” which it says will “see demand being managed through a specific set of interventions which will need funding”.
These will look to redesign services to reduce demand – however no details have yet been published for what these strategies will look like or how they will work.
The council has said that the strategies will be subject to regular review to ensure that
Ms Langley also explained to councillors more about the proposed savings in the budget, stating that £18m will come from cutting staff costs, £25m through contract and third party reductions; and £9m from reprofiling the council’s capital programme.
The finance chief warned though that while savings had been identified there was no guarantee that they will be delivered.
She said: “There are probably 25% that are really hard to deliver and I can’t guarantee those.”
Ms Langley said that the robustness of the budget for the coming year was “probably OK” but said it was the robustness of the plans moving forward which was a concern.
John Keeling, chairman of the committee, said that the council’s current financial position was a worry.
“I have been going through this with a fine-toothed comb and, frankly, it concerns me. The previous administration warned us this would happen.
“I get really concerned when we have a £95m increase in spending pressures in 2022/23. We have to have £53m to actually save which is a worrying thought for most of us.
“Having said that I think the budget does help to deliver what the council is trying to achieve.”