WILTSHIRE Council will freeze Council Tax for the fourth year running while continuing to invest in key priorities as its budget for 2014/15 was agreed on 25th February.
The continued Council Tax freeze means the average household will have saved £382 over the last five years compared to the national rate of inflation.
As a result Council Tax will remain at 2010/11 levels despite a further reduction in central government funding. The council’s financial plan for 2014/15 also outlines an additional £18.1 million to be spent on key services, including adult social care and safeguarding children. It also includes an amendment which will see councillors receive less paperwork – this will go towards a saving of £250,000 which it is intended will be used for youth services.
The overall budget of £333.1 million is almost £7.5 million lower than 2013/14. At the same time the council faces increased demand for key services such as care for vulnerable children and adults and highways maintenance, as well as rising inflation costs. As a result it had to find £25.5 million of savings through working more innovatively and efficiently.
The Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from central government for next year (2014/15) is £63.2 million – £12.8 million lower than 2013/14.
The budget was agreed by Wiltshire councillors at a full council meeting at County Hall, Trowbridge.
Jane Scott, leader of Wiltshire Council said, “This has been a challenging budget to set but I’m pleased we have yet again been able to freeze council tax. The ongoing reduction in central government funding, combined with increased demand, has meant that once again we have had to take an innovative approach to ensure that we can continue to provide vital front line services for the people of Wiltshire.
“We will continue to do whatever we can to lessen the impact on these vital services and to protect those who are most vulnerable in our communities. The county has recently seen the impact of the recent adverse weather and we need to support those communities that were directly affected and to invest significantly to maintain and improve our roads.
“Our local communities remain at the heart of every decision we make and we recognise what’s important to them in allocating the budget.”
The plan outlines an increase in spending on road maintenance to £21m a year for the next six years and a £44.9 million investment over the next four years to modernise Wiltshire’s council housing – with further money to provide more social housing and affordable homes.
The council’s gross annual budget is almost £900 million – which includes schools and public health budgets which are funded by direct grants from the government.
