businesses - Stoke-on-Trent City Council

10 Our City MARCH 2012
Budget shows city’s finances
in good health
CAREFUL planning in the
face of the worst ever
Government cuts mean
<strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent City Council’s
financial health is as good as
can be expected in the current
climate.
As well as balancing the books for
2011-12 after achieving £36million of
spending reductions, councillors and
officers are trying to achieve an
underspend which will help to ease the
pressures of the coming years.
A year ago <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent faced the
UK’s eighth worst financial settlement
Tax success
STOKE-on-Trent City Council has
increased the amount of Council
Tax it collected in the last year by
over one per cent... worth around
£800,000 extra money collected.
It means collection rates in the
city are better than they have
been for a number of years.
Assistant Director of Finance
Peter Bates said: “We are
committed to continuing to
improve collection performance
which in turn reduces pressure
elsewhere on the city’s finances.”
for a unitary authority. Now it has
weathered the storm of the first year of
cuts, and has more than a fighting
chance of meeting the challenges of
the next year. The approved budget
deals with the Government cuts and
creates an additional £5million to
fund vital job creation in the city.
Councillors set the budget for
2012-13 last month after a
comprehensive consultation exercise
which gave members of the public the
opportunity to have their say on the
council’s spending priorities.
Huge challenges
Councillor Sarah Hill, Cabinet
Member for Finance, said: “We face
huge challenges but managed to set a
bold and ambitious budget package
after comprehensive and inclusive
consultation. We made some
concessions after listening to the
public, including retaining the Lord
Mayor and withdrawing proposed cuts
to Marrow House. Moving forward,
we will continue to listen to families in
respect of all the sensitive and
vulnerable areas.”
Assistant Director of Finance, Peter
Bates said the council had managed its
finances effectively in the face of the
toughest of challenges and would
deliver a balanced budget for 2011-12.
He said: “The financial health of the
organisation is as strong as could
realistically be expected given the
speed and severity of funding cuts. We
have had to manage £36million worth
of reductions in the last year, and a
further £24million will be made in
the coming year. Although there
is still huge uncertainty about
the level of cuts we face in
the coming years our
performance so far gives us
a solid foundation to plan
from.”
The council has also
defended its decision to
increase Council Tax to
reduce the impact of cuts
on resources and help drive
forward its programme of
investment in job creation
and regeneration.
Councillor Hill said: “We
appreciate these are hard
times for residents but the
rise, which equates to less
than 77p per week on a
Band D property, means
we still have the third
lowest level of Council
Tax in Staffordshire.
“We have to create the
right conditions to attract
jobs and private
investment in the city,
and this budget is an
important part of
that effort.”
NEW SKILLS:
One of the priorities in the
council’s budget is to invest
in developing a skilled
workforce across the city. It
will support facilities like an
Ecohouse, pictured here,
where <strong>Stoke</strong> on Trent
College apprentices learn
the latest energy-efficient
construction skills. Our
picture shows Apprentice
Domestic Gas Fitter Tom
Smith with a photovoltaic
solar panel as he learns to
wire the fuse box for the
latest renewable energy
technology.
Do you have a child
who will be three or
four years old by
31st March 2012?
FREE
early education
for three and
four year olds
If so, your child is entitled to receive up to 15 hours a week of
FREE Early Education.
Early Education is part of the foundation stage and helps
children to develop a strong basis for future learning. Early
Education can help your child to learn through hands-on
activities and play, supported by staff who understand how
children grow, learn and develop.
Remember, all children who are aged three or four before
31st March 2012 are eligible to receive 15 hours free Early
Education (if your child attends a nursery class attached to a
school or a maintained nursery school, they are already
receiving their entitlement).
So, to find out more, including a list of local childcare settings
who deliver Free Early Education, contact the
tel: 0800 015 1120 or 01782 232200
stoke.gov.uk/families