'Councillors, this time last year we sat here with the challenge of having to find savings of £67m and maintain the services to Warwickshire residents which we are all proud of. A daunting task when you consider we had almost completed a previous saving programme of £92m. We rose to the challenge and produced a budget after hours of negotiations {we did not have overall control at that time} and we produced a 3 year programme based on a radical transformation and digitisation agenda, designed to protect the services that are important to us all.'

I have to thank the Labour group for their support in getting that budget through.

We are now 12 months into that 3year budget now known as OOP 2020. It is our intention to stick to that budget and adjust and add to as necessity dictates. This creates certainty and clarity of direction for WCC workforce and those receiving the services we provide. So this budget is about making those adjustments created by unforeseen pressures, changes in legislation, changes in revenue, etc.

Before I detail those adjustments you need to need to know the progress we have made over the last 12 months.

The principles that underscore what we do here are:-

1. Grow and encourage the economy of Warwickshire.
2. To keep Warwickshire residents safe and independent, protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

Without a strong economy you cannot deliver good and sustainable services. So how are we doing?

1. Warwickshire’s total output has increased by 30.7% since 2009 compared to National Average of 22.5%.
2. The business base has grown by 5% in the last 12months, there are now over 26,585 businesses now registered in Warwickshire.
3. The employment rate is currently at 77% well above the West Midlands at 71.4%
4. Unemployment rate is 2.9% lower than the regional (5.4%) and national (4.5%)
5. The GVA per job, a measure of productivity (£50k) is now 10% higher than the West Midlands Average.
6. The proportion of people employed in low paid jobs in Warwickshire is down by 25% on the previous year.

Not wishing to keep quoting numbers, but most of the performance indicators are equally as good.

Nationally the news is good with inflation now falling and wages in the last quarter growing by 3%.

So how does this translate into better services for Warwickshire? Last year we budgeted for the tax base to grow by 75%, in reality it has grown by nearly 2.4% generating an additional £4m. I repeat a strong economy helps delivers better services for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society.

I am glad to report that we are on schedule to deliver the savings as set out last year. We have used our reserves to smooth our transformation and dealt with spending pressures such as ASC and most of all Children’s Services, which in line with the national trend have seen a substantial increase in demand.

After an extensive consultation we are now transforming Children’s Centres into Family Hubs with an emphasis on helping those in most need and concentrating on people not bricks and mortar.

We are on track with transforming Children’s Services by recruiting more Children’s Social Workers which is already showing results with a reduction of children in care. The case load per social worker has also been reduced.

Recruiting Social Workers and Foster Carers is important and we are putting resources into staff and foster carer retention.

We have in the last quarter reduced the DTOC figures by good partnership working with the Health Trusts; this was achieved in time to meet the demand for more hospital beds during the winter period.

In Education we are increasing school places to meet the demands of a growing population. St Gabriel’s is a new school…….

Work continues on other new projects along the A46 recognised as a major avenue for economic growth. The upgrade of the Stoneleigh Junction is progressing well and work is expected to start in 18/19. This will lead on to further projects to help develop the area, including the University.

Warwick Town Centre Improvements are under way and will ease the congestion in a fast growing town, while respecting its history and heritage.

Kenilworth Railway Station will be open for services on 18th Feb. I am looking forward to the opening ceremony in early March, which I am told will be attended by the Transport Minister Chris Grayling.

Transforming Nuneaton Town Centre is progressing and the first planning applications will soon appear at NBBC; our partners in delivering this project.

We will invest:

• £2.5 million in an ambitious Digital Transformation Programme. Expectations around digital access and ease of doing things online have increased and will continue to grow at pace. Cllr Kaur will expand on this in her speech.
• Generate additional capital so we can invest in the infrastructure of our County, including investing £200,000 in digital fibre optic hubs to enhance access to high speed communications in local communities.
• We shall invest £330,000 to convert six school-based children’s centres into specialist provision for pupils with special educational needs.
• £100,000 to expand the capacity of our transport planning team to maximise the funding received from developers to deliver the infrastructure requirements associated with housing and business growth across the county. Such is the growth we are experiencing in Warwickshire we need to strengthen our capacity to meet that demand and deliver projects on time.
• £108,000 to maintain our library network, including Sunday opening, and to work with local communities to support the enhanced delivery of services from across our authority and community-managed libraries.
• £100,000 to support the digitalisation of our heritage collection, this will take the form of a ‘Digital Heritage Festival and will link into the Coventry Year of Culture and Warwickshire after World War 1.
• £75,000 to work with partners to support the year of well-being.
• £150,000 to work with partners on a joint project to integrate help for those in need of support due to mental health issues, homelessness and drug abuse. (Homelessness has become a big issue for the Districts and Boroughs and the underlying causes are more complicated than some would have us believe. Drug and Alcohol abuse, mental health, family breakdowns, gambling addiction, learning difficulties. So we will be trialling in partnership with the District and Boroughs a more holistic approach to dealing with homelessness.)

Recently I read an article on homelessness by Jon Kuhrt, who’s cousin was an addict, which illustrates how complicated this issue is, a short piece I will read to you now.

But once someone is in the grip of an addiction, the underlying politics of what has created their situation counts for little. We cannot just use homeless people as illustrations of political failure. True compassion means being focused on what actually helps them take steps of recovery and come off the streets.

This is because, like my cousin James, each person sleeping rough or gripped by addiction is a precious human being of infinite worth. We need to ensure the focus is on their true needs, not our emotional need to respond. If we are to truly help them we must have the courage and confidence to do the right thing, rather than the easy thing.

In the Local Government financial settlement the cap on Council Tax was raised by 1%. This was in recognition of the increasing demands on Children’s Services as I mentioned earlier. Also there is the 2% for Adult Social Services as agreed in last year’s budget.

We have decided to take that 1% which is worth £2.6m and consequently we are proposing a Council Tax increase of 4.99%. This represents a £1.25 per week increase for a band D dwelling.

Last year we started the Capital Growth Fund to bring forward projects which we have struggled to finance in the past and encourage growth in Warwickshire. This has been a great success and we propose to continue to invest in this very sustainable borrowing.

I am content this budget I have put before you today will meet the challenges for the next 12 months. Our reserves are in good shape so we are using £13m of reserves to invest in one-off projects and smooth in savings, whilst retaining be sufficient reserves to meet those demands made on us by unforeseen events. I seek your support for this budget.

 

*Councillor Peter Butlin is the Rugby Borough Councillor and Warwickshire County Councillor for Admirals & Cawston Ward.  He is also the County Council portfolio holder for Finance and Property.