Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy
Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property) introduced
the item by thanking the finance team for their assistance and hard
work in developing the budget. He then proceeded to set out the
Conservative Group’s budget proposals as contained in the
appendix to the published report. In doing so he emphasised the
following points:
- The proposed budget
was based on the vision set out in the Council Plan and had been
developed against the challenge of economic and political
uncertainty and a turbulent policy environment. At the same time, demand for services was growing
due to the aging population, more children and families needing
support and communities under pressure from the cost of living and
the impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
- The approach focussed
on four key principles:
·
investing to support the
most vulnerable in the community;
·
investing to support
further economic growth across
Warwickshire;
·
ensuring the services
delivered by the Council provided value for money;
and
·
using the
Council’s financial strength to ensure decisions made were
sustainable over the medium-term.
·
Almost £25m
invested to meet the growing numbers and cost of supporting elderly
and vulnerable adults;
·
Investment of over
£5m in children’s social care services to meet the
costs arising from the increasing numbers of children and families
needing support, including investment of over £3m in
additional staffing
·
Almost £5m to
support children and young people with disabilities and those with
Special Educational Needs
- Whilst there were
uncertainties around Government policy, the Council would not put
business and Warwickshire on hold while clarity was awaited and the
medium-term strategy focussed resources on social value and
maintaining the growth trajectory of the Warwickshire
economy. The proposals, therefore,
included provision in the capital programme for £187m to
support the delivery of the 2023 business plans of the Warwickshire
Property and Development Group and the Warwickshire Recovery and
Investment Fund, in addition to capital programme investment of
over £140m to ensure Warwickshire had a thriving economy with
the right jobs, training, skills and infrastructure.
- The proposals also
included £300K to support apprenticeships and reskilling
across the county and brought forward proposals for a Social Fabric
Fund.
- The proposals
committed resources to complete the £5m programme to
implement the Digital Road Map, starting with a new customer
platform approved by Cabinet in January 2023 and investing in
digital technology and automation to both drive future cost
reductions and improve the effectiveness of services.
- A further £800K
investment was proposed in the Fire and Rescue Service which would
further develop the joined-up approaches to fire prevention,
protection and response as well as the promotion of equality,
diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Chief Fire Officer
would be asked to develop viable proposals to further improve the
value for money of the service.
- Investment in the
SEND and Inclusion Change Plan would continue.
- Over £8m was
proposed to be invested to meet the additional inflationary and
demand costs in home to school transport together with £5m to
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