Councillors in Liverpool have approved a balanced budget for 2022/23.
There will be no withdrawal of services from children’s centres, Lifestyles leisure centres and libraries, and funding for local emergency support grants (known locally as the Liverpool Citizen’s Support Scheme) will be protected.
With many facing a cost of living crisis due to rises in fuel costs and inflation, as well as a cut in universal credit, the council will also continue to provide its council tax support scheme, which will help over 68,000 households.
The local authority has already seen its funding reduced by around 65 per cent since 2010, and the additional savings amounts to a reduction of a further £24.5 million for 2022/23.
The council’s budget is £465 million less than it was in 2010 and Council Tax only raises 40 per cent of the total needed, with the remainder coming from Government grants and business rates.
The gap will also be met by proposals which include a mix of reductions in spending (amounting to £16.49m) and generating additional income:
- A £40 annual charge for green waste collections – to raise £1.7 million
- Charging private landlords and social housing providers for pest control – to bring in £200k
- Managing demand for school transport – to save £100k
- Reviewing high cost packages of care to ensure individual needs are being met and funded in the correct way – to save £1.9 million
- Management restructure – to save £200k
All of the budget savings are viewed in relation to the Mayor’s triple-lock regarding their impact on people, planet and equality.
There will be a Council Tax rise of 2.99 per cent, with one per cent of it ringfenced for spending on adult social care.
Details of the timescale for implementation of the green waste charge will be revealed in due course, with the council looking at options to ease the burden on the most vulnerable households, including paying in instalments and a hardship fund.
The council is currently awaiting information on how the Government’s one-off Council Tax rebate of £150 for properties in Council Tax Bands A-D, used to offset increased energy bills, will be applied. Details of this scheme and a discretionary fund to help people who are on a low income and living in properties with Council Tax Bands E-H (who wouldn’t otherwise be eligible) will be available in the next few weeks.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, said: “This budget has been an extremely difficult process but we’re really proud of protecting vital support such as our crisis funding and our youth services.
“Following consultation feedback, we are looking hard at how we can best mitigate the impact of the introduction of a fee for garden waste collection. This could include enabling people to pay in instalments and a financial hardship scheme.
“I am painfully aware of how difficult it is to ask people to pay more when they are already seeing other living costs rise, but the simple fact is that if we don’t do this then we would have to withdraw valuable services that are a lifeline for many.
“We’re focused on a medium term financial strategy which will help us develop robust business cases to make us a resilient organisation for the future, so we can deal with future demand for services.
“We are determined to find sustainable solutions to long-term problems, erode the disadvantage and inequality that exists in too many of our communities, and improve our neighbourhoods.”
