Meeting the challenge: Barnet’s strategic plan and budget to 2020

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This consultation has now closed.

Overview

Despite significant reductions to Government spending since 2010 and a return to economic growth, the financial environment for the council, the wider public sector, and residents continues to be challenging.

The council will be providing local services in the context of dramatic pressure on public finances. Between 2011 and 2015 the council will have saved £75 million, 26 per cent of its budget. The council now faces a further budget gap of over £90 million by the end of the decade (£17.3 million in 2015/16 and £73.5 million from 2016 -20) to cope with the impact of a reduced funding from Government and increasing demand on services driven by population growth and change. Over the course of the current decade, the council’s total spending power will almost halve. The council’s approach to dealing with this challenge – and the priorities it has identified - reflect its desire to continue to have a positive impact on the lives of Barnet residents for years to come.

Our response to dealing with the challenge we face – as the opportunities that are emerging from a growing economy and shift in power to Local Government - are detailed and complex. We want to hear your views on the priorities, proposals and savings we have developed for council services over the rest of this decade. As part of this we are conducting two linked consultations:

a. General consultation on the council’s budget and priorities for 2015/16

In this consultation we want to know your views on our proposed plans for 2015/16 before they are voted on by Full Council on 3 March 2015. The full Policy and Resources Committee report on the council’s annual Business Planning Process outlines our approach for the rest of the decade and can be found here.

b. Consultation on the council’s Corporate Plan Priorities, Commissioning Plans and Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 2020.

We want to hear your views on the council’s overarching strategic priorities and commissioning plans as they relate to each council committee and Medium Term Financial Strategy to the end of the decade. For more information on our detailed plans for the future, please take the time to read our consultation document. The consultation document is split into themes and policy areas according to the responsibilities of each council committee. For ease of reference we have provided links to each one below. You can choose to give your views on the priorities and plans for each and every committee, or focus only on those you have a particular interest in (e.g. Housing). Please take the time to read the themes you are interested in and you will then be given an opportunity to answer the relevant questions within the questionnaire:

· Corporate plan priorities and business planning - Page 7

· Policy and Resources Committee - Page 8

· Adults and Safeguarding Committee - Page 10

· Children’s, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee -Page 14

· Environment Committee - Page 18

· Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee - Page 22

· Community Leadership Committee - Page 26

· Housing Committee - Page 29

· Public Health & Health & Well Being - Page 32

You can also view the full Committee report on the council’s Business Planning Process, which sets out the council’s proposed budget for the period 2015/16 – 2019/20 here.

Why We Are Consulting

We want to hear what you think of our proposals and ensure that our plans are as fair as possible and that they meet the needs and aspirations of all our residents. In particular, we want to know your views on:

  • the savings we have identified for 2015/16
  • the high-level priorities we have set for the strategic direction of the council for the rest of the decade, which will form the basis of the council’s new Corporate Plan
  • the priorities, approach and allocation of resources that have been identified within each council committee for the rest of the decade
  • our proposals for the level of Council Tax in 2015/16, and for the rest of the decade.

We also want to give you an opportunity to suggest alternative ways that could help the council meet the challenges ahead.

Give Us Your Views

Please take the time to read the information we have provided before completing our questionnaires. Please note for ease of reference, and where relevant, we have provided links to the 2015/16 savings or MTFS consultation document within the questionnaires.

Please take the time to complete our online questionnaires:

Consultation on the council’s Corporate Plan Priorities, Commissioning Plans and Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2020

General consultation on budget and business plan for 2015/16

Over the last year we have also run a series of consultations where some of our 2015/16 savings will affect the services residents receive. As part of these 2015/16 service consultations, we are currently running a consultation on Special Education Needs, home to school transport.

Face to face events and workshops:

  • We are holding a public event to give residents an opportunity to have a conversation with the Leader of the Council and each of the committee chairs about the commissioning plans and the priorities we have set to end of the decade. The meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th February, 19:00, at Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, NW4 4AX. To register your interest please email 2020priorities@barnet.gov.uk. Please note once you have registered you will be sent a scheduled time/slots depending on which committee chairs you wish to talk to. You will also be sent confirmation of your registration which you must bring to the event.
  • We are also running a series of workshops with the Citizens’ Panel, and a cross section of service users. If you do get invited to these please take the time to attend.

For any further information, or to request a questionnaire in an alternative format, please email consultation@barnet.gov.uk or telephone 020 8359 7016.





Overview

Despite significant reductions to Government spending since 2010 and a return to economic growth, the financial environment for the council, the wider public sector, and residents continues to be challenging.

The council will be providing local services in the context of dramatic pressure on public finances. Between 2011 and 2015 the council will have saved £75 million, 26 per cent of its budget. The council now faces a further budget gap of over £90 million by the end of the decade (£17.3 million in 2015/16 and £73.5 million from 2016 -20) to cope with the impact of a reduced funding from Government and increasing demand on services driven by population growth and change. Over the course of the current decade, the council’s total spending power will almost halve. The council’s approach to dealing with this challenge – and the priorities it has identified - reflect its desire to continue to have a positive impact on the lives of Barnet residents for years to come.

Our response to dealing with the challenge we face – as the opportunities that are emerging from a growing economy and shift in power to Local Government - are detailed and complex. We want to hear your views on the priorities, proposals and savings we have developed for council services over the rest of this decade. As part of this we are conducting two linked consultations:

a. General consultation on the council’s budget and priorities for 2015/16

In this consultation we want to know your views on our proposed plans for 2015/16 before they are voted on by Full Council on 3 March 2015. The full Policy and Resources Committee report on the council’s annual Business Planning Process outlines our approach for the rest of the decade and can be found here.

b. Consultation on the council’s Corporate Plan Priorities, Commissioning Plans and Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 2020.

We want to hear your views on the council’s overarching strategic priorities and commissioning plans as they relate to each council committee and Medium Term Financial Strategy to the end of the decade. For more information on our detailed plans for the future, please take the time to read our consultation document. The consultation document is split into themes and policy areas according to the responsibilities of each council committee. For ease of reference we have provided links to each one below. You can choose to give your views on the priorities and plans for each and every committee, or focus only on those you have a particular interest in (e.g. Housing). Please take the time to read the themes you are interested in and you will then be given an opportunity to answer the relevant questions within the questionnaire:

· Corporate plan priorities and business planning - Page 7

· Policy and Resources Committee - Page 8

· Adults and Safeguarding Committee - Page 10

· Children’s, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding Committee -Page 14

· Environment Committee - Page 18

· Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee - Page 22

· Community Leadership Committee - Page 26

· Housing Committee - Page 29

· Public Health & Health & Well Being - Page 32

You can also view the full Committee report on the council’s Business Planning Process, which sets out the council’s proposed budget for the period 2015/16 – 2019/20 here.

Why We Are Consulting

We want to hear what you think of our proposals and ensure that our plans are as fair as possible and that they meet the needs and aspirations of all our residents. In particular, we want to know your views on:

  • the savings we have identified for 2015/16
  • the high-level priorities we have set for the strategic direction of the council for the rest of the decade, which will form the basis of the council’s new Corporate Plan
  • the priorities, approach and allocation of resources that have been identified within each council committee for the rest of the decade
  • our proposals for the level of Council Tax in 2015/16, and for the rest of the decade.

We also want to give you an opportunity to suggest alternative ways that could help the council meet the challenges ahead.

Give Us Your Views

Please take the time to read the information we have provided before completing our questionnaires. Please note for ease of reference, and where relevant, we have provided links to the 2015/16 savings or MTFS consultation document within the questionnaires.

Please take the time to complete our online questionnaires:

Consultation on the council’s Corporate Plan Priorities, Commissioning Plans and Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2020

General consultation on budget and business plan for 2015/16

Over the last year we have also run a series of consultations where some of our 2015/16 savings will affect the services residents receive. As part of these 2015/16 service consultations, we are currently running a consultation on Special Education Needs, home to school transport.

Face to face events and workshops:

  • We are holding a public event to give residents an opportunity to have a conversation with the Leader of the Council and each of the committee chairs about the commissioning plans and the priorities we have set to end of the decade. The meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th February, 19:00, at Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, NW4 4AX. To register your interest please email 2020priorities@barnet.gov.uk. Please note once you have registered you will be sent a scheduled time/slots depending on which committee chairs you wish to talk to. You will also be sent confirmation of your registration which you must bring to the event.
  • We are also running a series of workshops with the Citizens’ Panel, and a cross section of service users. If you do get invited to these please take the time to attend.

For any further information, or to request a questionnaire in an alternative format, please email consultation@barnet.gov.uk or telephone 020 8359 7016.