East Cambridgeshire: Council Cuts

12 July 2013, 14:31 | Updated: 12 July 2013, 14:41

Cuts to jobs and services are expected at East Cambridgeshire District Council, following a reduction in government funding.

The Council has announced a review of operations, after a 10 percent cut to local council funding was announced in the Government Spending Review in June.

Some non-essential services, which the Council is not legally required to run, could soon be cut as a result.

Jobs at the authority could also be at risk.

However it is not yet known which services or jobs may be affected.

The review is due to be completed and presented in December this year.

It will 'look at the structure of the Council, assess how resources are employed and research opportunities to work in partnership with neighbouring authorities.'

Council Leader James Palmer, said: "As has been said many times before we are living in very difficult times. 

Many people throughout the district are working incredibly hard just to pay their bills, cover their mortgage and put food on the table. 

This constant need to maintain the household budget has become more and more difficult as people's disposable income the money in your pocket has continued to fall. 

As a small local authority, we too face great financial pressures which have been made more difficult by the future cuts to local government budgets announced in the recent Spending Review. 

On the back of incredibly tough financial settlements in recent years where the authority has only just balanced its books, the District Council is now in a very difficult situation when we look forward to 2014/15 and beyond. 

However we must face these challenges and look at the best way to deliver the services our residents need. 

As a District Council we have a number of key responsibilities to the local Council tax payer. 

These are to deliver the statutory services expected of a local authority, provide value for money and put in place the necessary infrastructure which East Cambridgeshire needs to prosper. 

It is the job of all Councillors and officers at the Council to find the best ways of meeting these goals. 

The review over the next few months will see how and where we can make the necessary savings to deliver a viable future for the authority. 

No one should be under the illusion that this is an easy task. 

We have to be honest and say there is a realistic chance that jobs could be lost at the Council, we maybe forced to withdraw from some non statutory services and we will have to look very closely at how we spend our grant budgets.

This is the tough reality which we now face. 

There are some very difficult decisions to be made in the next few months, as we do all we can to wring as much value for money as possible out of our budgets.

In the end, we hope to deliver a local authority which is fit for purpose and capable of meeting what is required from modern local government.

This will not be an easy process but sadly it is one which we cannot duck or shirk if we are to have a future."