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.”