TalkBudget Conversation Salford City Council wants to have a conversation with citizens, staff, local businesses and partners about what council services will look like in the future and how we will meet the continuing financial challenges ahead. Log onto www.salford.gov.uk/talkbudget to join in the conversation or complete this short survey.
About you Let s start with a bit of information about you. These fields are optional, but they help us to understand views from different areas of the city. If you have online access there is a budget conversation interactive tool on www.salford.gov.uk/talkbudget that will allow you to suggest your own savings and try and reach a balanced budget. Name Age Your ward Email Gender Organisation
Create a budget This section shows you how we currently fund services and allows you to suggest your own savings and try to reach a balanced budget. The budget for 2014 to 2015 was 225 million. For 2015 to 2016 we have 205 million. Insert your own figures in the box for each service to show how much you think should be spent on each area. Make sure that your budget does not exceed 205 million in total. (Please note we do not have ultimate control of Greater Manchester levies and charges, but we still think it is important to know your views on these charges so we can discuss with other organisations and in some cases reduce these amounts by working with you, e.g. by recycling more and sending less general waste to landfill) Service 2014 to 2015 2015 to 2016 Support for older people and people with disabilities Looking after children Housing and homelessness Education and skills Waste, recycling and street cleaning Leisure, culture and libraries Recreation and sport Highways, transport and street lighting Local tax collection Developing communities, keeping them safe and preventing crime Parks and open spaces Planning and building control Attracting and retaining jobs Trading standards and environmental health Public health and health improvement Levies and charges Capital financing Other services Totals 47.9 million 41.4 million 15.3 million 14.2 million 7 million 6.3 million 4.7 million 4.1 million 3.6 million 3.5 million 1.9 million 1.7 million 1.3 million 1.1 million 0.2 million 35.2 million 33.7 million 2.4 million 225.5 million max 205 million
Current proposals This section summarises the full range of proposals currently being considered by Salford City Council for 2015 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017. It has not been agreed that these items will be included in the City Mayor s Budget Report to Council in February 2015. The City Mayor/Cabinet are seeking views from a range of key stakeholders before any final decisions are taken. The full list represents a significant proportion of the 56 million we need to balance the budget but work continues to identify further savings measures. If you have any views on the individual proposals add your comments in the text box next to it. For those proposals that go onto the next stage, there will be a full service user consultation after Christmas. The potential saving figures are for 2015 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017, with the second figure being the total saving over the two years. Attracting and retaining jobs Your comments Additional savings on staff costs - potential saving 250,000/ 500,000 The proposal is to work with Greater Manchester partners to look at shared arrangements/functions for business support, funding and planning to support Greater Manchester work. This provides benefits for the staff to broaden their experience and to secure future opportunities for Salford. Reduce support to projects from revenue budgets - potential saving 200,000/ 425,000 This proposal is to increase income by improving the performance of contractually committed projects so that they no longer need revenue support. The projects are Metrolink at MediaCityUK and The Landing which provides services to businesses. The Landing currently has 98 tenants employing over 200 people and in the last year over 12,000 people attended events and workshops. Review Regeneration Team - potential saving 134,000/ 226,000 The proposal is to make savings from staff reductions through voluntary arrangements and reconfiguring the Regeneration Team.
Capital financing Your comments Reduce impact of capital financing on the revenue budget - potential saving 700,000/ 700,000 This proposal is to reduce the scale of new capital investment by around a third which will ease savings needed in the revenue budget. Developing communities, keeping them safe and preventing crime Reduce senior management posts - potential saving 181,000/ 181,000 This proposal reduces management posts in environment and community safety work areas. Make community safety budget efficiencies - potential saving 170,000/ 170,000 This proposal reduces operating costs by reducing the budget currently provided for Local Partnership Delivery Groups. Review neighbourhood management services and redesign - potential saving 130,000/ 130,000 This proposal would look at alternative ways to deliver neighbourhood facing services and would entail all neighbourhood facing savings playing a full part in delivering services at the neighbourhood level to enable efficiencies and build community capacity. Education and skills Improve independent travel for young people - potential saving 0/ 120,000 This proposal would maximise the independence of young people, with independent travel training and review of travel arrangements, plus continued efficiency of school travel arrangements to reduce the need for the council to provide transport. Review Connexions contract - potential saving 50,000/ 100,000 This proposal would make a small potential reduction in this contract linked to a wider review of support for all children and young people which would maximise their engagement with education, training, employment and early help services.
Your comments Review commissioning for children s services - potential saving 876,000/ 1,065,000 This proposal is a review of commissioned and contracted services within children s services to ensure that they are effective and that they are needed for the future. Review skills and work service - potential saving 120,000/ 120,000 This proposal is to reduce dependency on the council for work and skills support, by working with partners in Greater Manchester. Highways, transport and street lighting Adjust winter services budget - potential saving 50,000/ 50,000 This proposal would aim to make economies within the winter maintenance budget as a result of the reduced need for further grit supplies after last year s mild winter. Review service levels in Urban Vision - potential saving to be confirmed This proposal is to review service levels provided to the council including highways, public lighting, planning and building control. Housing and homelessness Change funding to sheltered housing - potential saving 495,000/ 495,000 This proposal is to make the funding of sheltered housing consistent with the other vulnerable adults support, making access to services more equitable across Salford. Prioritising the Supporting People budget to meet the most vulnerable needs in Salford - potential saving 860,000/ 1,045,000 This proposal is to redesign and prioritise the Supporting People budget which supports adult social care for vulnerable adults; families in poverty; homeless families and single people; support to gypsy travellers and support to care leavers.
Your comments Increase income generation in licensing - potential saving 150,000/ 150,000 This proposal would cover appropriate management costs for maintaining the licensing scheme. Leisure, culture and libraries Review services provided with The Lowry - potential saving 75,000/ 150,000 This proposal is to work with The Lowry to review the range and level of community services delivered. Local tax collection Council Tax Support Scheme - review thresholds - potential saving 500,000/ 500,000 This proposal is to increase the minimum council tax payment for working age customers from 12% to 15%. This is already part of a public consultation which closes in December 2014. Increase income from local taxes - potential saving 800,000/ 800,000 In this proposal regeneration projects and new developments would increase Council Tax and Business Rates. Looking after children Review 0-19 service - potential saving 300,000/ 1,440,000 This proposal is a partnership review of services available for children young people and families covering early help through to intensive service support, in order to develop increased flexibility and effectiveness within a reduced budget. Review provision in the looked after children service - potential saving 975,000/ 1,950,000 This proposal is a review of planning of placements and range of provision for children in care maximising high quality placements and minimising costs.
Other services Your comments Review of events funding and partnership links - potential saving 0/ 100,000 This proposal is to maintain key city events by seeking other (non-council) funding including further public, private and voluntary sector involvement. Adjustment to central resources - potential saving 4,716,000 / 8,038,000 This proposal is an adjustment as a result of Treasury management, investments and grant income, including Manchester airport dividend. Review of design and print, corporate ICT, finance services, customer services and HR - potential saving 1,421,000/ 3,511,000 This proposal would include developing full business support internally within the organisation to ensure one council approach to creating a business support centre. High volume transactions would be automated, staff empowered to self-serve and use skills and expertise appropriately. This would combine activities across the council, including ICT, finance, HR and commissioning, improving data sharing and enabling direct access to business related support. Reduce funding to Salford City Radio - potential saving 30,000/ 30,000 This proposal is to support Salford City Radio to become financially self-sustaining. Review charges for services to schools - potential saving 300,000/ 300,000 This proposal is to review charges to schools to ensure that appropriate costs of services are covered. Review Turnpike Lodge security arrangements - potential saving 100,000/ 100,000 This proposal reduces operational revenue costs by changing security and access at Turnpike Depot. Maximise income or redesign Citywide catering and cleaning services. - To be confirmed This proposal is for a review of contracts for supplies to reduce costs and/or a redesign of the service.
Your comments Integrate policy and change function with Public Health and better working with New Economy - potential saving 312,000/ 312,000 This proposal is to reconfigure the council s policy and performance functions, through integration with Public Health resources and a focus on core responsibilities. Greater use will be made of partnerships with Greater Manchester and other research partners. Improve use of buildings and rationalise estate - potential saving 250,000/ 350,000 This proposal is to maximise the use of buildings including Gateways. Reduce discretionary spend - potential saving 250,000/ 500,000 This proposal would further reduce discretionary spend on supplies and services. Review management structures - potential saving 300,000/ 300,000 This proposal is to review the management of services as they are redesigned and new service delivery models are introduced. Review business travel - potential saving 200,000/ 400,000 This proposal is to launch a Green Travel Scheme which will give staff more choice on how they travel to and from work and on business. The scheme would introduce a car club that will reduce business travel costs, support council targets to reduce CO2 emissions and provide a facility for residents to use. Change funding of DBS checks - potential saving 36,000/ 36,000 This proposal would bring the council in line with other public sector employers, such as the NHS, and the private sector by requiring new starters to pay for their own DBS checks. Introduce new salary sacrifice schemes - potential saving 150,000/ 150,000 This proposal would extend the range of staff benefits offered at no cost and reduce national insurance costs to the council through salary sacrifice schemes and voluntary buying of additional leave.
Your comments Improving customer access - potential saving 0/ 1,591,000 This proposal is to provide new and easy ways for customers to use digital channels for high volume areas of service requests, allowing people to self serve, including reporting problems and completing transactions to reduce the number of telephone to council teams. Information will be used to take early, preventative measures to avoid pressure on high cost services. Parks and open spaces Reduction in culture and leisure budget and redesign of services - potential saving 250,000/ 250,000 In this proposal the council would, in conjunction with Salford Community Leisure, redesign services: examine integration of parks with leisure services, change the way support services are provided and explore neighbourhood working opportunities. Review Red Rose Forest contribution - potential saving 30,000/ 30,000 This proposal would review the contributions from other local authorities which benefit from the service and could result in the consideration of the withdrawal of funding to the Red Rose Forest. Planning and building control Review environment and climate resources - To be confirmed This proposal is to reduce the demand on the council s environment and climate change services to take advantage of the work undertaken at a Greater Manchester wide level. Public health and health improvement Savings from drugs and alcohol service redesign - potential saving 50,000/ 93,000 This proposal has come from the redesign of drug and alcohol services, which focuses on the recovery from drug and alcohol use enabling local people to return to healthy productive lives after they have had problems with drugs or alcohol. Changes have made efficiencies with service providers and the new service will reduce the amount of money spent on expensive substance misuse treatments.
Your comments Redesign prevention of long term conditions services - potential saving 375,000/ 375,000 This proposal brings together a number of services that promote public messages around the importance of preventing smoking, cancer, stroke and heart disease. There is an overlap in some of these common messages, and through redesign the council could make savings and make it easier for Salford people to engage with one service. Redesign of stop smoking support - potential saving 50,000/ 250,000 This proposal reviews this support as there has been a reduced demand for stop smoking services. This is largely down to the increased use of e-cigarettes. Review wellbeing services and obesity management - potential saving 194,000/ 644,000 This proposal would create a more cohesive approach across a range of wellbeing services provided by a number of organisations to enable people to look after their own health and wellbeing and stay healthy for as long as possible. Review the sexual health budget - potential saving 0/ 500,000 This proposal is to review sexual health services to plan a more cost effective way of delivering in partnership with other Greater Manchester councils, purchasing sexual health services together. The new services will meet both the needs of Salford residents but also achieve much greater value for money. Release funding - potential saving 193,000/ 193,000 This proposal will reallocate project funding and remove vacant posts within Public Health budgets. These budgets supported the move of Public Health into the council and are no longer needed in this area. Change Health Improvement Service - potential saving 1,000,000/ 1,000,000 This proposal is to include health improvement services as part of a re-design of neighbourhood support services, helping local people to organise and support themselves, reducing costs.
Support for older people and people with disabilities Your comments Integrated care programme alliance - potential saving 3,176,000/ 5,448,000 This proposal is for a new service aiming to provide better outcomes for older people, improved experiences of health and social care services and lower costs. This is not a service reduction but is about four key organisations coming together to pool budgets and resources and reduce duplication. Create adult social care mutual - potential saving 0/ 500,000 This proposal is to continue plans to create a mutual company to provide adult social care and ensure the continuation of safe, quality, sustainable social care for the most vulnerable people. Cost savings will be made as the mutual company generates income and reduces reliance on the council. Redesign commissioning of services - potential saving 60,000/ 110,000 This proposal is to redesign services into a single integrated team responsible for commissioning health, social care and housing related support. Continue review of care and support packages for people with adult social care needs - potential saving 125,000/ 175,000 This proposal is to continue the review of care and support for vulnerable people, ensuring needs are met and people are supported to live as independently as possible. Review and update of charging policy for adult social care services - potential saving 20,000/ 50,000 This proposal is to review and update the charging policy for adult social care to meet the requirements of the Care Act, protect the most vulnerable and ensure an equitable and consistent approach to charges. Trading standards and environmental health Review charging for pest control - potential saving 20,000/ 20,000 This proposal is to amend charges to reflect the costs of pest control work undertaken on behalf of other organisations.
Your comments Increase bereavement services charges - potential saving 80,000/ 80,000 This proposal is to review and benchmark our adult cremation and burials fees to be in line with the costs of the service. Waste, recycling and street cleansing Make efficiencies in street cleansing/grounds maintenance - potential saving 390,000/ 390,000 This proposal would adjust maintenance standards on certain roads and pathways in parks to better focus on the needs of local areas. Review buying policy for wheeled bins - potential saving 158,000/ 158,000 This proposal is to review the way we buy wheelie bins as there are potential savings as a result of the existing contract coming to an end. Reduce costs in fleet management - potential saving 372,000/ 634,000 This proposal is a reduction on revenue spend on the provision of council vehicles taking advantage of an existing contract coming to an end. Increase income from trade waste service - potential saving 50,000/ 50,000 This proposal is for increased income from the collection of trade waste through business growth. Waste disposal - potential saving 80,000/ 80,000 This proposal would take the opportunity to revise the contract for the disposal of certain waste arising as a result of activities undertaken by the council. Reduce costs of waste management - potential saving 696,000/ 696,000 This proposal would reduce operating costs of the waste disposal service by securing efficiencies in relation to supplies, services and other ancillary costs.
What can you do We will continue to strive to meet these financial challenges, but together we can make a bigger impact. What would you be prepared to do to play a part? Recycle more What could you do? Recycling regularly and correctly is one of the easiest ways to save money. From bottles, plastics, cardboard, paper and food waste what can you do at home that you don t already? Volunteer Local people contribute 137,000 hours per week equivalent to 122 million per annum. From digital to street champions, community groups and sports clubs there are loads of schemes to join. Which could you sign up to? Get online Digital services cost less. Can you pay your council tax by direct debit and use a Salford customer account to manage your services? Learn how to get online and pop into your local library. What could you do online? Get fit and active Getting outdoors, eating a balanced diet, stopping smoking and cutting down on alcohol can all help you to stay healthy. What can you do to get yourself more active?
Be a good neighbour What could you do? Shopping, taking in parcels and looking after pets to supporting the local neighbourhood with litter picking and homewatch schemes. How can you be a good neighbour? Shop local Successful businesses are important to the city s growth and provide jobs, every 1 spent locally delivers 4 to the local economy. What can you buy from your local shops and businesses every week? Other What else can you do? Have you any ideas or suggestions that you might not be able to do yourself but others could? Please let us know, together we can make a difference! Please post this form in the Talk Budget comment and suggestions box at the Eccles, Pendleton or Walkden Gateways, Salford Civic Centre reception or return to Marketing and Communications freepost address: Freepost plus RTEJ - EGLL - ETXY Salford City Council Marketing and Communications Civic Centre Chorley Road Swinton Manchester M27 5FJ