Derbyshire Times news bulletin 7th November
Derbyshire Times news bulletin with editor Phil Bramley
Transcript
00:00 Here's today's Derbyshire Times video bulletin.
00:02 Chesterfield Council Chiefs have put out tough saving proposals
00:06 to combat a forecasted multi-million pound budget shortfall and significant funding gaps.
00:11 Labour-controlled Chesterfield Borough Council has stated it is facing serious gaps in its budget,
00:16 like many other local authorities nationwide, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
00:21 the cost of living crisis and high inflation rates, but it has stressed that it aims to
00:26 protect essential services and continue supporting the most vulnerable. Deputy Leader Councillor
00:32 Amanda Sargent has previously stated that the council will consequently have to reduce its
00:36 workforce by looking at voluntary redundancies and voluntary retirement options while avoiding
00:41 the need for compulsory redundancies, but this may also mean stopping the delivery of some services
00:46 and possibly reducing others. The council has now put forward a plan to review how tourist
00:52 information services are delivered, including the use of the Visitor Information Centre in Ricknell
00:56 Square, how some council community buildings are used, namely Haslam Village Hall, the Assembly
01:02 Rooms and the Revolution House, the levels of funding provided to a range of external organisations,
01:08 including community and voluntary groups, and subsidies applied to the running of outdoor
01:12 sports and leisure centres, and how council venues, including the Winding Wheel Theatre,
01:17 the Healthy Living Centre and Queen's Park Sports Centre, are managed to ensure commercial
01:21 opportunities and income is maximised. The council events programme is also to be looked at to make
01:27 sure events are effectively supporting the town centre and that parks are providing value for
01:31 money, and the council is also seeking further approvals to develop detailed plans for the
01:37 possible introduction of charging for the collection of garden waste and a review of
01:40 how the residents town centre car parking scheme currently runs. Like so many local authorities
01:46 across the country, this council is facing extreme pressures on its budgets due to a variety of
01:51 factors outside of our control. Not only are we feeling the impact of exceptionally high inflation
01:57 rates, but the cost of living crisis means that people need our services now more than ever.
02:02 But the income we receive from things like our venues is falling and we're still bearing the
02:08 long-term financial impacts of the pandemic. This is compounded by piecemeal government
02:14 underfunding of the public sector, which has seen the amount of money that we receive from
02:19 government more than half since 2010 in real terms. So whilst this isn't a financial crisis
02:26 of our making, we must respond to it nonetheless and do so in a responsible and sustainable way.
02:32 There's still much uncertainty but some things are clear. Councils can't do what they've always done.
02:40 We've already made significant savings over the last 18 months, but much more is needed to address
02:47 budget gaps that stretch into the millions. Some services will need to stop or be delivered by
02:54 other agencies. Many will have to be delivered differently. This means some difficult choices
03:01 and really hard decisions about where under pressure council budgets need to be spent in
03:07 the future. The council's cabinet is due to consider some of those difficult choices
03:14 and a series of savings proposals have been put forward to help bridge this gap. From potentially
03:20 introducing new charges for some of our services such as green waste collection,
03:25 to reviewing the future of some of our buildings, to thinking about the funding we provide to some
03:31 external bodies. We need to make some hard choices. Many of these proposals will need further
03:39 development as well as conversations with our communities before any final decision can be made.
03:45 We will continue to be open and honest about the things that may need to change
03:52 and there will be different opportunities for you to give us your views and help shape the future of
03:59 our services. But at the heart of all of these difficult choices will be our commitment to
04:06 continue to put our communities first, doing all we can to protect the essential services
04:12 that local people rely on.