We are asking for your views on our draft spending plans for the next financial year, 2023 to 2024.
What we are consulting on
We are currently drawing up our budget proposals for the next financial year (2023 to 2024).
- For the current financial year (2022 to 2023), we set a net budget of £126.74m
- For the next financial year (2023 to 2024), we are proposing a net budget of £134.06m
These proposals will set out the changes we need to make to last year’s budget in order for us to produce a balanced budget for the following year, which we are legally obliged to do.
The changes will include any:
- emerging savings and income generation plans
- increases in the Council Tax precept levied by Bath & North East Somerset
The budget proposals for 2023 to 2024 will also reflect any other changes to our finances, including the level of central government funding, which should be confirmed later in December.
Before more detailed budget proposals are considered by cabinet and Full Council in February 2023, we are seeking your views on:
- emerging savings, income and growth items
- the level of increase in Bath & North East Somerset’s Council Tax precept
Our challenge for the 2023 to 2024 budget
We face a significant budget challenge for 2023 to 2024 due to inflationary impacts and rising demands for services, particularly in children’s social care.
These challenges were set out in two online briefings held on the 2 and 3 November 2022.
You can also read our Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24 to 2027/28 for further details.
Our plans
We are currently proposing to set a budget of £134.06m for 2023 to 2024.
These proposals should include:
- a Council Tax rise of 4.99%
- additional income of £5.23m
- savings of £4.43m
- growth of £16.06m
We have published the income and savings proposals that will contribute to balancing the budget and are asking for your views on them.
Emerging savings and income generation items
We have currently identified £9.67m as emerging opportunities to generate additional income and make savings. We are seeking views on these items and the tables below show the items we want your views on. They are grouped by Cabinet Portfolio.
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate and commercial estate income | Increase in income from new lettings, review of bad debt provision, and improved Council Tax collection | No impact to service delivery, appropriate resource will need to be in place to ensure that new lettings and income generating opportunities are prioritised | £2,343,000 |
| Corporate property and capital financing | Review and rationalise the utilisation, and reduce running costs, of Council occupied estate, review and re-profile corporately funded capital programmes | Reduction in operational asset base may have implications on service delivery | £605,000 |
| Chief Financial Officer service review | Review and benchmark Chief Financial Officer functions running costs, restructure and rebase teams staffing and running costs to align with revisions in functions and current management arrangements | Reductions in support levels to Council frontline services will require higher levels of self service through investment in systems and training. | £508,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Care package review | Review of care packages so that they match user needs in an affordable way | Service user needs will be met by alternative provision | £300,000 |
| Review of Better Care Fund | Ensure appropriate uplift in Better Care Fund funding to protect social care expenditure | No impact to service delivery | £300,000 |
| Staffing review | Review of teams following transfer back from prime provider | Restructure of safeguarding team following transfer back of safeguarding from prime provider | £200,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure contract income | Additional income from commercial charging opportunities using our leisure facilities | No impacts to service delivery | £10,000 |
| Extending preventative services and reviewing service funding arrangements | Extending family group conferencing provision, review and revise funding proportions for joint health and social care placements, review and revise chargeable services to Public Health grant | Redirection of funding will be required to ensure continuity of service provision | £1,452,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing and Regeneration project charging | Income target for Housing and Regeneration chargeable work to capital and revenue grant funded schemes | No direct service impacts | £200,000 |
| Refocus business support function | Focus business support through close working with WECA. Reduce inefficient business support subsidies | Risk – reputational and reduced grant income to B&NES (both Council and B&NES businesses). No WECA Interface | £40,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Services additional income | Return to pre-pandemic levels of Heritage Services profitability | Challenging income target in light of: cost of living crisis, uncertainty of Chinese inbound market recovery following ongoing lockdowns in 2022 and a projected limited recovery of the overall inbound market to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. However, the recent changes in the exchange rate have accelerated the recovery of US visitors. At this time the target is challenging but achievable | £512,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review service levels and operating model | Carry out street cleansing admin in house, reduce provision at Lansdown South playing fields based on low utilisation | No direct service impacts | £69,000 |
| Reduce consultancy spend on projects and absorb inflationary pressures within existing budget for one year | Reduction to consultancy revenue budget for waste strategy work for 2023/24 only, budget not required next year | No impact to service delivery | £155,000 |
| Inflationary uplift to chargeable services | Increasing service charges to keep pace with the rising cost of delivery, raising additional income from recycling due to increased activity | No direct service impacts, as prices are increased demand may reduce | £579,000 |
| Reducing operational running costs | Reduction in vehicle revenue costs through extending life of existing assets | No direct service impacts | £133,000 |
| Structure review | Service efficiencies through holding and removing vacant posts in Waste and Fleet services | No direct service impacts | £123,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inflationary uplift to chargeable services | Increasing service charges to keep pace with the rising cost of delivery | No direct service impacts | £45,000 |
| World Heritage | Restructure service by moving into Planning department and use of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) | No direct service impacts | £40,000 |
| Saving/income title | Saving/income description | Impacts to service delivery | Saving/income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance volume capping | Spend up to available budget with profiling of work across more than one financial year | Some risk of deterioration of assets | £150,000 |
| Increased charging measures | Uplifts in line with inflation to chargeable services, introduction of new Residents Parking Zones, CAZ Financial assistance scheme contract income, emission based charging, recovery of parking demand to pre-pandemic levels | Capacity and investment required to implement new charging mechanisms, public engagement and consultation required to fully implement proposals. This income will contribute to the funding of revenue and capital investment for highways and transport | £1,748,000 |
| Traffic surveys | Reduction in funding for unplanned speed and HGV surveys | Surveys are carried out for planned schemes from the project's budget | £2,000 |
| Structure review | Removal of vacant technician and engineer posts, revision to CCTV operating schedule | Reductions in service levels due to reduced resource | £160,000 |
However, even if all items in the list of emerging savings and income generation items were to be approved, there would remain a gap in drawing up the budget of £5.4m for 2023/24.
If any items in the list were not to be included in the budget, the amount would need to be identified elsewhere to make up the shortfall, or an equivalent amount raised through an increase in the Council Tax precept.
For every 1% in Council Tax precept the council raises £1.1m.
Council Tax precept
Following the Chancellor's budget announcement on 17 November 2022, the Council Tax precept limit has been lifted by 2%. This has been split 50/50 across general Council Tax and the Adult Social Care precept, taking the limit to 5%.
By lifting Council Tax by 4.99% in the next financial year (2023 to 2024) will help fund key services without further cuts to service provision, this amount will also help towards the rising costs of inflation which is currently more than 10%.
The Adult Social Care budget growth for 2023 to 2024 is £3.2m to maintain services. The Adult Social Care element of the 4.99% Council Tax increase is 2% which will generate an additional £2.4m to help fund this growth.
Take part in the consultation
The consultation is open from Wednesday 14 December 2022 and will close at 5pm on Friday 20 January 2023.
What happens next
The detailed budget proposals will be drawn up for scrutiny and consideration by councillors at the following meetings:
- Corporate Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel on 23 January 2023
- Cabinet on 9 February 2023
Final decision on the council’s budget
Final decisions about the 2023 to 2024 budget will be made at our Budget and Council Tax meeting on 21 February 2023.
Information about all budget meetings is listed on our council meeting calendar web page. Meetings will also be live-streamed and available to view on our YouTube channel.
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