County Treasurer's

Hampshire County Council budget 2006/07 questions and answers

What is the County Council's budget in 2006/07?

The County Council's budget in 2006/07 is £568.4 million. Of this, £120 million comes from Government grant, and the rest is made up from council tax. In addition to this budgeted expenditure which the County Council is able to prioritise for spending in line with its strategy and plans there is a further £920 million of spending funded by income and specific grants. The income is retained for reinvestment in the service to which it relates and specific grants are distributed for spending on specific items as directed by the Government. Total gross expenditure for 2006/07 is £1,489 million.

What will be the increase in the County Council's portion of the council tax?

Council tax for County Council services will increase by 4.7%. Overall, council tax in Hampshire is expected to increase by around 4.5% when all local authorities have levied their charges.

What will be the County Council's portion of the council tax for a Band D property?

Those living in a Band D property will pay £910.62 to the County Council in 2006/07, compared with £869.40 in 2005/06.

There is increasing disquiet among some sections of the community, notably pensioners, that they cannot afford to pay an ever-increasing council tax. What is the County Council doing to help them?

We're very much aware that those on low and fixed incomes - not just pensioners - are finding it very difficult to pay their council tax bills. We would urge those having difficulty paying their council tax to contact the County Council's Information Centres on 0800 028 0888 to see if they can claim financial assistance - many of those eligible to claim are not doing so.

We will also continue to press Government to fund the County Council properly and recognise Hampshire’s public service needs in making decisions on grant distribution.

Is the County Council looking at its own services and making efficiency savings?

Yes. The County Council has achieved savings of more than £16 million in 2005/06 and plans to achieve further efficiency improvements of £11 million in 2006/07. We take very seriously the need to use our budget prudently. We have to perform a balancing act, though, because consultation with residents has consistently told us that people don't want us to cut council tax at the expense of services - this exactly mirrors our thinking.

Couldn't the County Council make further savings by employing fewer people?

The County Council employs more than 30,000 staff, both full-time and part-time. The vast majority of these provide frontline services, such as teachers and social workers, directly delivering a range of important services to the community.

The County Council’s performance was assessed at the end of last year by the Audit Commission and a top ‘four star’ rating was achieved. We employ first class staff in order to continue to provide the first class services that Hampshire residents expect.

What sort of council tax increase can we expect in future years?

It is difficult to forecast beyond 2007/08 because decisions have still to be taken on Government spending plans and grant distribution. The best estimate is around five% in 2007/08 based on the provisional budget for next year.

Why does the County Council's council tax consistently go up by more than the rate of inflation?

There are a number of reasons for this. Pay inflation tends generally to be higher than retail price inflation. Other Government imposed cost increases have to be met, for example the increase in employers' national insurance contributions in 2003 and landfill tax last year and this year.

Price inflation in the private sector for residential care and some other contracted services (such as repairs and maintenance of buildings) has also been much higher than the retail price index (RPI). Higher standards on waste disposal and increased volumes are another pressure.

There are also increased numbers of children in care, often requiring very costly individual placements, and increased numbers of elderly frail requiring care at home, and in residential nursing care to free up hospital beds.

In 2006/07 the County Council received a below inflation grant increase of 0.2%. In the light of this and growing spending pressures it has not been possible to peg the council tax increase to inflation.

Has the County Council consulted with the public over this rise, and what did they say?

Over 3,000 council taxpayers on our Citizens' Panel were invited to respond to a recent postal consultation. We also held a budget consultation workshop in October 2005 with residents and gave all Hampshire residents the opportunity to have their say online. Most people did not support the council tax option requiring service cuts and were willing to accept a higher increase in order to protect ‘life or death’ services such as social care.

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