Council Leader's Blog

Well, that was a bit of a slog! But we’re ready to set a budget next week – a budget I’m pleased to say that will maintain the quality services that really matter to our residents, such as weekly waste collections, and the quality of life in our borough, with for example our fantastic country parks.

Despite the difficult financial times being experienced the length and breadth of the country, we’re also introducing new services such as the new Gorse Ride library and keeping buses on the roads in Earley and Woodley. And we’re doing this without loss of quality in these services, while still keeping WBC’s share of the proposed council tax increase to 1.9 per cent and protecting services for those vulnerable people most in need.

The budget is due to be agreed next week when the Council meets on February 18 at 8pm – and, if agreed, the 1.9 per cent would equate to an increase of £22.85 for the year (at Band D) – the price of a round of drinks.

You’re more than welcome to come along and hear more about what we’re planning to do, despite being the worst funded unitary council in the country.

Did you know, for instance, that we receive from central government just £123 per person compared with, for example, Slough which gets £466 and Reading £380. This means we have to raise 80p from residents via council tax for every £1 we spend on services, against an average of 53p for other unitary councils.

But, despite this, we’ve still managed to keep reducing our costs without sacrificing the core, universal services on which our residents rely. And we haven’t compromised on quality – we’ve achieved this by reducing the cost of delivery through greater efficiency. 

Saying that, we’ve had to take steps to safeguard the Council’s future viability because, as you will be aware, substantial reductions in public expenditure across the nation are likely over the next three years. WBC will be no exception and we will have to do things more efficiently with fewer staff and taking advantage of new technology, whilst at the same time building on the progress we have already made.

We are therefore continuing to transform the way we deliver services so we can be sure we’re using our stretched resources to provide services in the best possible way.

We will see many good things happening in the borough such as progress on the redevelopment of Wokingham Town Centre and the £31million rebuild of Waingels College in Woodley. We will bring much-needed specialist housing for older people to Wokingham and Woodley and will take forward the scheme to build affordable local housing for local people in Wargrave. We will celebrate the opening of a brand new community centre at the heart of Finchampstead thanks to a partnership between the council, Finchampstead Baptist Church and other key community organisations. We will continue, through our Putting People First progamme, to give more people control of their social care through personal budgets – at the moment, more than 420 people have a personal budget.

And we will continue to maintain excellent levels of educational attainment and improve services that safeguard children. Key indicators show that we are operating in the top quartile in the country – and have been doing so for the last six months.

So quite a tough time ahead with some difficult decisions to be made. But I hope that the financial facts below will help you understand why:

• Wokingham Borough receives £39million in central government grant but residents and businesses pay back over £60milllion in rates and taxes. (This excludes the money that goes directly to schools.)
• We receive from central government just £123 per person compared with, for example, Slough which gets £466 and Reading £380.
• Only 20p in every £1 we spend comes from central government – other councils get 47p on average.
• In Wokingham Borough, 41p in every £1 that council tenants pay in rent has to be handed over to central government.
• We have saved almost £16million over the past five years and a further £2.6million is set to be saved in 2010-11.
• Our staffing costs are reducing – over the past five years we have saved over £1.7million on our staffing costs and in the next three years we aim to save at least a further £4.4million per annum.
• Each member of staff serves 127 residents – the lowest staff numbers to population in Berkshire.
• WBC is the third lowest spending unitary council per head of population (£635). Reading spends £838 and Slough £855. But our residents think we’re the best, with most people being satisfied with Wokingham Borough as a place to live – a little less than 90 per cent which is higher than most other places. And this is according to independent surveys.

I’ll be back with my next online instalment in a fortnight or so – unless, of course, something tickles my fancy or rattles my cage before then! If there’s anything you’d like me to blog on about, please shout! Please also let me know if there is anything you are concerned about in your neighbourhood or the borough as a whole.

 Cllr David Lee

Leader of Wokingham Borough Council