Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, Cllr Ruth Bennett, outlines the Council’s priorities in setting this year’s budget…
In the next few weeks, we’ll be setting our 2025/26 budget at Liverpool City Council. It’s been many months in preparation, with a lot of detailed work and careful planning.
We are acutely aware that, whether it is a government grant or money raised locally, it is your money we are spending.
At the heart of every decision we make is a commitment to ensure we make the most of every pound, and that it is invested in delivering good quality services. Our priority has been to make sure that we are continuing to invest in the things we know you care about.
Over the last year, we have been spending more in our neighbourhoods, joining-up services by bringing our Streetscene service back in-house, and placing staff on the ground to work with local Councillors and community organisations to direct our resources at specific issues in particular wards, such as fly-tipping, waste or match day parking. It’s already delivering success, with a 5.7 per cent reduction in the reports about fly-tipping and a drop of around 25 per cent in both street cleaning and weeding requests. We’ve also halfway through recruiting 40 new parking enforcement officers to tackle inconsiderate drivers.
At the same time, our drive to make sure we bring in as much of our owed income continues. Our in-year council tax collection rate is currently much improved and better than other big ‘core’ cities, and we’re on with being far more robust with businesses who owe money to us and you – the residents of Liverpool.
We’ve reviewed our Council Tax Support Scheme for the first time in a decade to make sure it is fit for purpose, and a review of single person Council Tax discount is bringing in hundreds of thousands of pounds extra a year. We’re getting into an annual cycle of reviewing fees and charges so that it becomes business as usual, because these make an essential contribution to our overall budget.
We’ll also be rolling out improvements in customer services, including the introduction of a new case management platform. In simple terms, it will enable you to access more services online, over the phone, or in-person, and get real-time updates and information, in the same way as you would expect from your internet or energy provider.
Along with many other councils up and down the country, we face demand pressures in areas such as social care, homelessness and SEND transport, but we have plans in place to deal with this and, where necessary, mitigate the financial impact.
This year we have received a greater amount of money from the Government as they changed the funding arrangements to target deprived areas. In the longer term, they are carrying out a Comprehensive Spending Review which will give us more certainty over our finances by letting us know how much we will receive in the coming years. This will help us greatly in planning for the future, helping us build on the progress we have made in the last 18 months.
