As local authorities across the country brace themselves for budget reductions of up to £30m over the next few years, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has been praised for its forward planning.
Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, said “the Council had in-year savings of £2.8m in its General Fund Budget, which will be transferred to the council’s efficiency fund to cushion spending cuts of £7.5m in 2010/11.
The council, has already absorbed a loss of £2.2m in Government grants, is taking necessary action to meet the impending reductions. A statement on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement released today by the Government said several changes were made to the way grant is shared out between authorities because of the Government’s unfortunate economic inheritance.
These changes aim to insulate the poorest and most vulnerable areas from the most significant formula grant reductions and limit the need for councils to ‘front load’ the cuts into the first year of the settlement.
Graham said: “The council appears to be doing a great job coping with the situation it is in. It’s evident it is taking the necessary precautions to allow for budget reductions to be made in a way that avoids cuts to jobs and services wherever possible.”
And he added: “Other local authorities can learn from the council’s example of confronting the reality of the situation head on.”
East Riding of Yorkshire will receive £102.5m in adjusted formula grant, a decrease of £14.8m from 2010/11. The total allocation for the 2011/12 settlement was reduced £2.5-bn to £19-bn from 2010/11.
The settlement suggested ways local authorities can prepare themselves for current and future cuts, which include cutting out waste and bringing senior pay under control, two proactive measures the council has taken.
Leader of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Cllr Parnaby OBE, said despite budget cuts the council hoped to avoid job losses as much as possible and had already introduced a pay freeze for council workers. He said the council’s senior management costs were among the most cost-effective in the country, ranked 35th cheapest of 42 unitary authorities.
However, he acknowledged cuts on this scale would undoubtedly affect the entire community, but said the primary concern was preserving council services and the local economy.
Councils are given the opportunity to comment on the proposals made in the settlement and following this, the final settlement for 2011/12 will be debated and approved in the near year.
