Council budget

What services does the council provide?

The council is one of the largest employers in the area, with over 10,000 employees, who provide over 600 services to over 143,000 households and businesses in towns, villages and hamlets covering some 930 square miles.  

These include social care for the elderly and vulnerable, the construction and maintenance of roads, parks and other infrastructure, planning and building control services, waste collection, environmental health services, the provision of schools, libraries and museums, as well as many other local services.

Like all large public sector organisations, we manage our resources very carefully and aim to do more with less money.  Since 2010, the government has reduced our funding significantly and we have had to make tough decisions in order to meet this challenge.

How much has the council saved in response to government funding reductions?

The council has already achieved £169million of savings up to 2018/19. A further £29.9million of savings are planned up to 2022-23 and it is projected that additional savings of £9.1million will be required to balance the financial plan by 2022-23.

We have had to use our reserves, mainly to support adults social care. It is important to note that this is one-off funding and once depleted, these reserves cannot be used again.

We face many unavoidable financial pressures, for example, an ageing population and increasing costs of care, the impact of government welfare reforms and the National Living Wage, plus increasing energy costs, all across a large rural area.

To achieve our savings target and meet these huge challenges, we need a good Business Plan in place so that we can focus on what’s important and prioritise what needs to be done, and tell you how we will do it and explain how we will use the money wisely to achieve it.

What is the council's approved budget and four-year financial plan?

The 2019-20 approved budget and financial plan for the period 2019-20 to 2022-23 are set out in the document available below:

Revenue Budget and Financial Plan 2019-20 to 2022-23 (pdf 45mb)