Dover District Council Budget Plans 2011 - 2016

Like all other Councils, Dover District Council is preparing for exceptional financial challenges and pressures over the coming years.

Charging one of the lowest Council taxes in East Kent and with the lowest number of staff amongst the East Kent authorities, DDC are also amongst the lowest taxing and spending of all comparable authorities in England.

However, this also means that many of the obvious efficiencies/savings have already been made, and while it is always possible to do more, it is not possible to simply resolve the problem through further efficiency savings.

With expected cuts in grants from central Government (potentially ranging from 25% to 40% in the worst case), falling income streams and increasing costs, this will mean real service cuts and reductions in the workforce.

The Council still aims for the services the public recognise as essential to be protected as far as is possible and for attempts to be made to reduce areas of administration that the new Coalition Government has decided are less important. They are, therefore, making every effort to minimise the impact on our residents. However it is almost inevitable that difficult decisions will have to be made and these will no doubt affect the local community in some way.

The Council expect the Government to announce the full financial implications in its Autumn Spending Review in October, but at this stage there is not sufficient information on exactly how much their grant will reduce. DDC are therefore taking the following steps in anticipation of some reduction:

1. Modelling three possible scenarios and their impact on their budget:

A 25% reduction in Government grant will require annual savings of £5.1m to be achieved within four to five years.
A 33% reduction will require savings of approximately £6.4m.
A 40% reduction equates to a budget saving of approximately £7.5m.

2. Working with partner authorities to deliver shared services where this has benefits for both the customer and identifies savings. A dedicated team, made up of staff drawn from East Kent authorities, has been set up to drive the joint services project forward, and a number of services are already being shared. It is intended to accelerate this process. The combination of four Councils and the Landlord Services for Council Housing Tenants has already entered a consultation phase with all Council tenants and leaseholders, which, subject to their approval and the approval of the Government Department, could result in an amalgamated service by April 2011.

3. Delivering a freeze on council tax (subsidised by Government) and a proposed pay freeze (the latter currently being consulted on).

4. Reviewing all services and service priorities, building on consultation responses they have received previously and through further consultation, to identify where reductions in services could be made, accompanied by a review of internal structures to seek better ways of managing and delivering services.

The Council would like to know your views on their approach to the coming financial pressures, so for further information and the chance to have your say on service prioritisation, visit the website at www.dover.gov.uk/priorityservices. If you are unable to access the website from home, visit the Gateway in Dover Market Square, one of DDC's area offices, or your nearest library for access. If you have difficulty accessing the documents on-line, or you need a translation, contact Customer Services by telephone on 01304 821199, or email customerservices@dover.gov.uk and a paper copy, or translated copy will be provided for you.