Millions of pounds are to be invested in frontline services to protect vulnerable children and young people in Swansea.
Proposals for next year’s Council budget are due to be discussed by Cabinet on Thursday.
And against the toughest financial climate in a generation, Members are being asked to invest an extra £6.4m in child and family services.
Unveiling the draft budget for the next year, Chris Holley, Leader of the Council, said that the Council is also investing £155m in our schools in the coming year.
And he said that if the Budget is approved by Council later this month, 20% of management and supervision costs across the Council will go as the authority seeks to save almost £17m in the coming year.
The Council has also added a new fleet of recycling vehicles to pave the way for fortnightly plastic collections which will ultimately help reduce landfill costs.
Cllr Holley added that Council Tax will rise by 4.35%- an increase of 76p a week on a band D household bill. This does not include precepts from the Police and other organisations like Community Councils where they apply.
Cllr Holley said: “These are tough times for local government and tough times for local families. That’s why the amount we’re raising in savings is more than double the amount we expect to raise from an increase in Council Tax. We are also using reserves of £3.5m to cushion the impact on frontline services.
“These are some of the largest savings we’ve ever made in one year and it means hundreds of jobs will have to go with as many of them away from the frontline as possible.
“By not filling existing vacancies, natural turnover and voluntary redundancies we’re seeking to minimise the risk of the need for any compulsory redundancies.”
And he added that while almost all departments would see little change on their budgets for the next financial year compared to last year, Child and Family Services would see significant investment.
Cllr Holley said: “The extra money for Child and Family Services is needed more than ever. In the wake of the Baby P case all local authorities have seen a massive rise in the number of children and young people being looked after by the Council.
“In Swansea the jump has been 38% in the last year alone. Now there are 522 looked after children in Swansea and there’s 225 on the Child Protection Register- an increase of almost 50% in a year.
“It’s a sad fact of life thesedays that when families hit trouble or break up children are often the casualties and it’s us they turn to for help.
“We have a legal and moral duty to provide care for vulnerable children. That’s why we have had to prioritise vulnerable children and young people in the budget, no matter how tough the financial climate.”
Cllr Holley said that in recent years schools had been cushioned from Welsh Assembly Government demands for efficiency savings across the Council. This year their budgets were under pressure because of the drive for efficiency but also because WAG had not fully funded the 2.3% teachers’ pay rise.
It means the rise will have to be funded from school budgets instead.
Cllr Holley said: “Given that other areas of the Council are having to accept reductions in services, staff numbers are being reduced and there is no provision at all for pay rises either, it was not fair to expect them to bear the burden of pay rises for teachers as well.”
Among the other budget points are:
- 20% reduction in management and supervision costs
- Heads of Service reduced from 23 to 18
- Swansea Tennis Centre to close
- Changing refuse and recycling services to segretated weekly collections
- Reducing street lighting in some non-residential areas
- Increased charges for some services
Cllr Holley said reducing street lighting would not happen in residential areas, but switching them off will happen in some non-residential areas where it was safe to do so.
He added: “These are the toughest times for local government in a generation; a financial squeeze at precisely the same time as demand for our services reach unprecedented levels.
“That’s the scale of the challenge. But we will meet the challenge and we will do all we can to protect the services that matter the most.”
