Budget pressures increase

With the triple threat of continuous high inflation, more people needing more help and continual underfunding from the Government, Wokingham Borough Council is making its priorities clear: we will continue to secure sound finances and protect those who need us most.

The council continues to receive the least funding from central government per resident of any unitary authority in the country – £30million per year less than if it was funded in the same way as the average unitary authority.

Inflation is also impacting the council’s budgets, with significant increases in its contract costs and capital projects.

The two main sources of funding for local authorities for non-statutory areas are the government revenue support grant and council tax.

Next to no support from Government

Wokingham Borough Council gets next to nothing from the revenue support grant and currently council tax rates are capped below the inflation rate, leaving it with few options to cope with increasing costs.

The council has had a strong track record of reducing costs and making efficiencies, totalling almost £29million over the past six years.

It has made a real terms overall budget reduction of 34 per cent since 2010/11, despite the ever-increasing cost pressures in statutory care.

As the council’s budget pressures increase, there is less money available for activities such as emptying litter bins and cutting grass.

More than £600,000 over three years in savings

The council has found more than £600,000 in savings over three years by removing some of the least used litter bins in the borough and reducing the number of times it sprays weeds, cleans areas around bottle banks, empties litter bins, and sweeps the borough’s town centres and road network.

The contract for these services was signed in 2019 – set at a yearly cost with inflation built in. Since inflation has so dramatically increased, the cost for these services has become unaffordable for the council.

Busier areas will continue with more intensive cleaning and litter bin emptying, while less busy areas will see a reduction in both as the council looks to make savings with as little negative impact as possible.

The areas around the bottle banks will now be cleaned once a week instead of twice a week, bringing the borough in line with other local authorities.

The council is encouraging residents to take their litter home with them if they find a litter bin full as it moves from emptying less-used bins twice weekly to weekly.

An additional £100,000 savings per year

The council is changing the way it cuts grass, which will mean £100,000 in savings per year by reducing the number of cuts from six to four for grass areas excluding play parks and other amenity areas.

Highway verges that impact safety sightlines will continue to be a focus and cut on the current schedule. 

Cllr Ian Shenton, executive member for environment, sport and leisure said: “We know residents are used to the current level of service, but the reality is that we just don’t have the money to keep doing what we have been.

“Central government penalises us for being a well-off borough – we get £30million per year less than other local authorities like us. We don’t get a revenue support grant from central government, and council tax rises are capped every year at a rate significantly lower than inflation.

“That combination of factors can lead to only one thing – a budget gap. 

“But we are committed to balancing the budget and protecting the residents who need us most – if that means that we empty litter bins and spray weeds a little less often, then that is what we will have to do.

“People may have heard about other councils effectively going bankrupt, but I’m not sure people realise just how serious that is.

!If it were to happen here, it would have huge consequences, including major service cuts and increases to council tax. Slough had to increase their council tax by about 10 per cent this year because it hadn’t managed its budget properly. We are committed to not allowing that to happen here.”