Council £37.6 million. in Debt

[Bengie]

So they have decided to cut back on services to save and raise money.
The list below is their intention, note 'Place directorate savings proposals No 15'

Children's Services directorate savings proposals​

1. Work with families to keep more children at home: £1.627m
2. Reduce the use of residential care, increase the use of foster care and work to ensure children in care can return to their families or a connected person in their lives £2.275m
3. Review our workforce / organisational structure. Realigning services in Targeted Support and Social Care will reduce the need for agency workers and costs associated with external assessments: £0.673m

People directorate savings proposals​

1. Manage and reduce demand on housing and adult social care: £2.93m
2. Review Reablement service: £250k
3. Review early help provision and children’s centres in partnership with Children’s Directorate and partners across the city: £600k
4. Review youth services working in partnership with local providers to reduce costs: £43k
5. Review sports development service and align function to Plymouth Active Leisure: £100k
6. Transfer funding for health and wellbeing hubs to Public Health: £119k
7. Maximise grants to support wellbeing services: £508k
8. Review contracts to deliver efficiencies: £205k
9. Maximise Disabled Facilities Grant: £500k
10. Develop a new operating model across the directorate: £200k
11. Use reserve to support range of children’s services: £250k
12. Reduce Council subsidy associated with leisure facilities: Tinside Lido: Broaden offer including new events: Plympton Pool: Review operating costs and income; Mount Wise Pools: Implement entry charge to contribute to costs of running; Brickfields: Develop community sports and wellbeing hub with partners: £250k

Customer and Corporate Services / Chief Executive directorate savings proposals​

1. Review Contact Centres/Customer Services operating within the Council to look at broader efficiencies, bringing services together and focusing on those who are not able to use digital services and the most vulnerable communities we serve: £188k
2. Reduce purchasing of library books as ebook loans are increasing: £50k
3. Swap revenue budget funding for Community Grants programme with capital funding which is available: £213k
4. Share policy and performance functions across the Council: £84k
5. Bring together marketing, design and communications functions across the Council: £80k
6. Reduce external legal advice: £20k
7. Review Lord Mayor’s events and streamline resources: £30k
8. Review senior management resource across the Council: £200k
9. One-off proposal to freeze the Head of Policy and Regional Partnerships role for 2023/24: £70k
10. Improve processes and implement automation technology to reduce manual work in Business Support: £200k
11. Consult residents on how the Council reprovides its Library Service alongside a review of other community buildings and services: Subject to consultation – likely to be 24/25 saving
12. Introduce a plan to save money on IT as part of review of how services are best delivered across the Council: £600k
13. Freeze vacancies from transformation and digital teams and identify funding sources: £300k
14. Reduce spending on agency staff used in managing Council buildings: £60k
15. Adjust security provision in Council buildings: £123k
16. Reduce posts within the Human Resources Organisational Development (HROD) service: £220k
17. Review learning and development spend across the Council: £25k
18. Review of audit requirements from the Devon Audit Partnership: £50k
19. Review budget for the Finance team: £250k
20. Reduce external financial advice: £50k
21. Vacate Windsor House earlier than planned: £500k
22. Accelerate transfer of Children, Young People and Families service from Midland House and sell the building: £230k

Place directorate savings proposals​

1. Reduce concessionary fares budget - release underspends in this budget assessed against historic trends: £500k
2. Consider and consult upon the implementation of charges at Park and Ride sites to support the non-commercial bus routes and contribute to savings already identified in the separate Cabinet report agreed on 10 November 2022: £229k
3. Generate savings and income from the commercial estate (lease renewals, re-gearing and new income): £343k
4. Capitalisation of Strategic Project Team costs: £50k
5. Review costs of the economic development team through capitalisation of costs, efficiencies, income and sponsorship targets: £77k
6. Secure new and additional income and grants from cultural trusts and foundations: £125k
7. Ensure Tourist Information Centre is cost neutral: £25k
8. Seek sponsor for Bonfire Night on The Hoe or stop the event: £30k
9. Review of community transport provision including release of bike hire underspend, consideration of funding underspends, the optimisation of services and identifying alternative funding models: £70k
10. Withdraw from Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership: £10k
11. Withdraw from South Hams/Plymouth Urban Fringe Team: £66k
12. Reduce/re-align financial contributions to environment/marine bodies: £10k
13. Increase allotment fees: £11k
14. Undertake a full-service re-structure of Strategic Planning and Infrastructure: £300k
15. Annual increase in parking fees and identify new forms of income (subject to consultation as required), in addition to those savings already identified in the separate Cabinet report agreed on 10 November 2022: £423k
16. Highways engineering client fees through capitalisation of back-office support: £128k
17. Re-profile highways maintenance in areas such as white-lining, gulley work, barriers and ironworks as well as rationalise staffing and seek capitalisation of back-office costs: £500k
18. Make route optimisation savings in refuse collection service: £290k
19. Increase fees and charges in Street Services in line with fees and charges policy – areas include commercial, trade and bulky waste, MOTs, marine, playing pitches and beach huts: £234k
20. Strategic contract optimisation: £430k
21. Introduce new Chelson Meadow solar farm to generate savings (post feasibility works): £50k
22. In line with national government policy, create a habitat banking scheme to generate income from developments to improve biodiversity and offset environmental impact: £29k
23. Maximise nature-based solutions to create additional income: £20k
24. One off saving – reduce foreshore reserve: £129k
25. One off saving – reduce Park and Ride reserve: £100k
26. One off saving – reduce bad debt provision: £343k
27. One off saving – Strategic Project Team licence fee: £48k
28. Utilise funding allocated for food waste collection service pending Government guidance on next steps for introduction: £200k
29. Recovery of owed land receipts: £50k

 

[Jennifer]

Where the hell are they wasting all of our money.

Plymouth has 120,780 homes, if we take the lowest Council Tax Band (A) of £1338.81 and multiply
it by the number of houses, we get the figure of £161,701,471 collected in council tax alone.
It will be a lot more than that as that is only using the lowest tax band.

If we take their spending of £196 million take away the understated Council Tax
collected, that leaves £35 million.
Take away from that the income from rents, rates and car parking plus many other forms
of income, they should never be overspent.
It's wasting it on stupid things that is causing the problem.

 

[Wilfred Shilling]

I agree with all the above. Instead of just spending, why when they come up with an idea don't they
jot a brief down on paper and then ask people and stop believing they are the experts and are alway
right.