Politics: Preparing for challenge of New Year economic tidal wave

A monthly column from Swindon Borough Council Leader Cllr David Renard.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Swindon Link readers a very happy new year.

The past 12 months have been tumultuous to say the least with the terrible war in Ukraine, the economic challenges the country is still enduring and, of course, the cost of living crisis which is affecting each and every one of us in different ways.

Looking ahead to 2023, the waters are likely to remain incredibly choppy and here at the council we will be facing our very own tidal wave. That metaphor may seem dramatic to some of you, but the savings the council has to make in the next financial year are quite simply unprecedented.

As I type, our financial officers are forecasting that we will need to find £38.6m in savings to balance the books, which is the single-biggest budget gap for a single year that we have ever seen.

Inflation, fuelled by events in Ukraine, has increased our costs by £26m alone as our contracts and social care placements have rocketed, while wages have also increased to help our staff cope with the rising cost of living.

Demand for social care services cost the council £124m a year – that is 80 per cent of the budget and includes mental health services, placements to keep children safe and support for residents with learning disabilities.

We expect to receive details of the Government’s local authority settlement in the next couple of weeks and I have already written to the Prime Minister urging him to help local councils at this most difficult of times.

But the likelihood is that councillors on both sides of the Chamber will be left having to make some incredibly difficult decisions when the budget is brought before Full Council in February.

Our officers are working extremely hard behind the scenes to come up with a range of proposals to bridge the huge budget gap and we will have a better idea of where we stand in a few weeks’ time.

We will also be looking at how we deliver services differently. For example, we have just recently agreed to use our five core libraries as Customer Services hubs so people can access digital support and receive guidance on applying for blue badges, renewing bus passes, requesting home repairs and receiving help with parking fines and permits.

A few years ago we closed a budget gap of £30m over a two-and-a-half year period and we have continued to deliver huge savings year on year, despite seeing demand for social care continuing to rise.

But I can assure you that we will work tirelessly to meet this latest challenge head on so we continue to support our most vulnerable residents as best we can.