More than 4,000 responses in budget consultation
More than 4,000 views and responses on Telford & Wrekin Council’s budget proposals were made during a four-week public consultation on the Council’s most difficult budget ever.
Telford & Wrekin must make £30 million of cuts, as Government grant to the Council continues to be cut, next year by another 20%. This is against a background of the Council already making £80 million worth of cuts since 2010.
The Council says that it must cut many services the community relies on, with a number of proposals due to come into force by April 2017 including the Council stopping running community centres, a number of children’s centres and many of its libraries.
It is also talking to a range of organisations in the borough to seek new ways that community groups or partners could run these services.
These discussions are progressing well and in areas such as Hadley and Dawley local town and parish councils have said already they would come forward and take on running some services.
The Council received a total of 4,013 responses and comments during the consultation. The majority of these were made using the Council’s budget survey, while hundreds of people came and gave their views at a range of roadshow events across the borough at locations including supermarkets and Telford bus station.
This feedback from people will help shape the Council’s decisions on whether it increases Council tax above the Government-assumed 2% increase for adult social care services and whether it alters any of its proposed cuts. More details on these will be published very shortly.
Cllr Lee Carter, cabinet member for finance, said: “Given the cuts we have to make and that these threaten many services that the public greatly value, it’s no surprise that we have had this level of response.
“We’re looking at people’s views in more depth and the public’s views will help us with decisions around the Council’s budget and council tax.
“Thank you to everyone who took the time to give their views and came and spoke with me or my cabinet colleagues at the many events we held during the consultation.
“My experience was that while people don’t like what we have to do, residents understand that, given the scale of cuts in Government grant, we have no choice.”
