Green light for £10.9m council cutbacks (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Green light for £10.9m council cutbacks

10:46am Thursday 14th February 2013 in News By Joanna Davis

COUNCIL chiefs have warned that even tougher times could lie ahead as they backed a further £10.9million of cuts at a meeting.

Members of Dorset County Council’s cabinet supported a budget to go before full council tomorrow that includes £10.9m of new savings on top of £5.6m of ongoing savings and £3m from central budgets.

Despite the cuts to services, Dorset residents at least appear set to enjoy a freeze in the county council’s share of the council tax for a third year running.

Areas identified for savings in the coming year include public transport, museum grants and road safety funding.

Chief financial officer Paul Kent warned councillors that, having identified the bulk of savings for the 2013/14 financial year, the authority’s attention must now turn to how it can trim its budget in future years.

The council currently expects to have to find estimated savings of £13.5m in 2014/15 and £13.2m the following year.

Mr Kent said: “Our priority must be to focus on services required in future years to ensure we can provide the most cost-effective services for the people of Dorset with the resources available to us.”

Cabinet member for corporate resources Spencer Flower added: “We have got challenges beyond this year coming up that are probably even greater than the ones we have had.

“It is going to be more challenging as this process goes along.”

Council leader Angus Campbell said the way the authority approached its budgets had changed ‘fundamentally’ and warned the period of austerity could continue for some time to come.

He said: “Well into the next national administration there are going to be austerity issues and we can’t see them and we can’t see the scale of them.”

Coun Campbell also praised the efforts of Dorset County Council staff for their efforts in continuing to ensure services were delivered despite fewer resources.

He said: “There is an awful lot of work being done by far fewer people.”

Hopes to recover Iceland banks cash

DORSET County Council still expects to recover the vast majority of its assets held in two Icelandic banks.

The council was one of 120 local authorities to have more than £28million assets tied up when the nation’s banking system collapsed in 2008.

A report considered by members of the council’s cabinet revealed of the £13,279,929.15 it had lodged with the bank Heritage, the council had now claimed back £10,260,456.87 and was hoping to recover up to 90 per cent of the full amount.

Of £15.553m it was claiming from Landsbanki, a total of £7.338m had been recovered to date and it was still expected to eventually recoup the full amount.

Chief financial officer Paul Kent said the sums recovered so far amounted to over 60 per cent of the total figure but it did not add to the authority’s spending power because these figures had already been budgeted for.