Hackney Council responds to Comprehensive Spending Review announcement
Hackney Council says it has taken a proactive approach in anticipation of the Comprehensive Spending Review (announced last week by the Chancellor, George Osborne) to put in place plans that will mitigate the impact of a reduction in funding from central government.
It says that while it is too early to say what the actual impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review will be on it and on the services it provides, the information released in last week’s announcement is consistent with the estimated savings the Council has been working towards, which is a reduction in resources of approximately 25% over a four-year period. In 2011/12, the Council is planning to deliver £26m of savings.
Hackney Council says it will will need to make reductions in its Net Revenue Budget of approximately £70million between 2011/2012 and 2014/2015. It says that this position will become more certain once it has the full details of the 2011/2012 local government finance settlement expected in late early December.
Responding to the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement, Mayor Jules Pipe, said: “I would like to reassure local residents that there will be no material cuts to the frontline services that we provide in the coming financial year. We will continue to prioritise the protection of frontline services, and will work to minimise the impact on services of this massive reduction in government support to this borough.
“The Council is accelerating its programme of efficiency savings in order to protect frontline services this year, but the government announcement makes swingeing cuts to local government that in the years ahead, no Council could absorb through efficiencies alone.”
“As part of next year’s consultation around the 2011/2012 budget, we will listen to the priorities of local people to ensure that they are reflected in the difficult decisions that will need to be made over the coming years.”
Audit Commission reports show that Hackney Council has a recently much-improved track record in financial management. It is the only council to have ever achieved five years of consecutive council tax freezes, and alongside this, it says it has made the highest efficiency savings in London, “enabling it to re-invest savings in improving and expanding Council services”.
The council says that in accelerating its programme of efficiency savings, it has already developed proposals of nearly £18m and is finalising the detail in relation to a further £8m to be implemented and delivered for 1 April 2011.
Hackney Council is also planning a budget consultation to take place in early 2011. It says that this consultation will be “an opportunity to gather the views of its residents and stakeholders on priorities to inform the decisions the Council will need to take on where to focus resources in the coming years.”
It says that, through the budget consultation process, it will “inform and involve people in the community in prioritising spend on local public services to ensure it supports Hackney’s residents during what may be a difficult period of spending cuts for all public services in the local area.”
This is one of the best Mayors and in my opinion, he has not been given enough recognition for the work he has done in hackney, by the London Mayor.
My street is cleaned every day,so hackney cannot be the dirtiest borough. There seems to be a more balanced mix of the social classes. Recently, I have seen a influx of middle class families move into the area. Hackney has a very mixed cultural heritage. We have more buses and to me, it seems that hackney is a really cool place to be right now. We have seen the Hackney College and it is quite impressive to me. I would not move from this borough. Let’s have more young peoples businesses such as stalls with interesting things to sell, not more food. Hackney has more convenience stores and betting shops than interesting things that you find in islington, my next favourite borough
We could do with more jobs going to the hackney residents. In fact, each borough should have targets to ensure that their local residents are employed in their boroughs this is my question for the work and pensions secretary.
Innovations such as more public toilets and less animal fouling would make the place more hygienic. Please keep the parks clean during the cuts
Efficiency savings such as make the borough paper available in the libraries/post offices and online, rather than posting to every household-gets people to use libraries more and is more ‘green’.
Jane, no mention of council land being handed over to property developers with zero social housing avaliable. £60 million spent on a bus stop for one bus in Hackney. Letting property developer Hammerson off £10million meant for social housing because they can’t afford it. Empty Hackney Homes properties throughout the borough occupied by sqautters whilst families live in overcrowded flats. Consultants in the council raking in thousands of £s per week with no accountability. Messing up the elections this year leaving people without the vote. Demolishing historic buildings quickly before English Heritage can list them. Concreting over a 1/4 of Hackney Marsh for a car park. But we can ignore all this because Pipeshaft gets the dogshit cleared off you street and more yuppies are moving into the borough. Great.
I believe I share precisely the same opinion of Dennis VanDerGinst on this write-up