By Alan Irving

Last updated at 16:14, Wednesday, 03 February 2010

COPELAND Council faces seeing deficits rising to £3million – and job losses could be on the cards when budget cuts start to bite.

Elaine Woodburn

All areas of spending and services are under close scrutiny in a bid to plug the millions of pounds in shortfalls in the next two or three years. The situation is described as critical.

Predicted gaps between income and expenditure are £2.276million in 2011-12 and £3.317million in 2012-13.

For the next financial year (2010-11) the revenue funding gap is set at £684,000 but that could drop to around £294,000 as the council continues to draw from its reserves “treasure chest”. The aim is to keep knock-on effects to a minimum while finding ways to avert a crisis in the next two financial years, when cuts in government funding are expected to hit Copeland and most other local authorities.

Head of Finance Julie Crellin said: “The budget-building exercise demonstrates we are at a point where the search for savings (while at the same time minimising any impact on services) is becoming difficult to achieve.”

Council leader Elaine Woodburn said: “All areas of activity will have to be considered. At this stage we can’t rule anything in our out.

“We don’t know yet how big the gap will be but it is prudent we plan for this now and look at the worst-case scenarios. We have been discussing the likely range of government funding reductions in the autumn and the range of figures include a £1-£3 million reduction for 2012-13.

“The biggest figures relate to cuts in excess of 20 per cent of general grants. We are considering more effective ways of working including sharing some of our services with other authorities to reduce costs and share expertise.

“We have already started an ambitious change programme which will contribute to preparing a sustainable budget for the future. So far we have been able to sustain our budget and our recent consultations with the public have shown that people understand these issues and appreciate the difficulties ahead.”

Tory group leader David Moore told The Whitehaven News: “We are talking about cuts of up to 25 per cent across the council. It’s difficult to see how it can be done without job losses. We can’t rule them out.

“We will also have to consider whether to have cuts in the number of councillors. Everybody will have to get it through their heads that Copeland Council can’t carry on as it is. How the council looks in 18 months time will be dramatically different to how it is now. That is the reason for Choosing to Change. We must look at the way we do things, what the cost is, whether we can share more services (with other local authorities) and whether we can avoid job cuts.

“It’s a serious situation. The government’s swingeing cuts will affect all councils. Copeland Council, unlike some others, hasn’t resorted to hatchet jobs but now we have to sit down and take a serious look at services, how we deliver them; what are we doing that maybe we don’t need to do, or do what we’re supposed to do even better.

“We should be okay in the coming financial year: it is the next and the one after that when the enforced cuts will start to bite.”

The council’s resources planning working group has agreed in principle ways of managing with much less money. One of them is “income generation and price increases – neighbouring councils having already taken steps to significantly raise prices and limit free parking”. External funding could also be sought for what are called “nuclear-related pressures”.

Reviewing central costs to reduce expenditure is highlighted, along with a review of the balance between development functions and core statutory services.

There is no mention of possible staffing cuts but central costs is the area which finances people and buildings, along with general running costs. Copeland currently employs about 400 staff.

Coun Woodburn said the bulk of the council’s funding came from government grants and like all councils Copeland faced the reality of predicted grant cuts. In Copeland council taxpayers paid for only nine per cent of day-to-day spending.

A special meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee will today consider the financial position. Chairman Brian Dixon said: “We will address all aspects of the services we deliver and the impact future budgets might have on those services. Make no mistake any questions of job losses or service cuts would have an adverse effect on the economy of the area which concerns me both as a councillor and a former trades union organiser.”

First published at 15:46, Wednesday, 03 February 2010
Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk