09 Jan 2023
Hertfordshire County Council proposes draft budget to protect vital services
Hertfordshire County Council has published its draft budget for the next financial year. The proposed budget continues to invest in the council's Corporate Plan priorities while maintaining the services we all use and providing support to the people who need it most.
Like councils across the country, Hertfordshire County Council continues to face huge financial challenges due to soaring rates of inflation and high demand for council services. Overall, the county council will spend over £1billion next year delivering essential services for residents. As a result, the council has needed to make some difficult decisions to be able to propose a balanced budget for the new financial year, which begins on 1 April 2023.
In order to deliver a balanced budget, the county council will be making savings of £27.4m in 2023/24 – the highest level of savings since 2017. And only a small proportion of these savings (£2.9m) will impact on service provision or partners. These savings are in addition to those already made in the autumn to ensure a balanced budget for the remainder of the current financial year.
However these savings alone will not be enough to balance the budget, so in order to protect frontline services, Hertfordshire County Council is also proposing to raise council tax by 4.99% (including 2% specifically for social care). This means a typical Band D household will be paying £1,605.63, an increase of £1.47 per week.
Cllr Richard Roberts, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said: “Given the challenges that we know residents are facing with the increased cost of living, proposing a rise in council tax has been a very difficult decision. However, the alternative would be to make significant cuts to council services at a time when many people really need us to be there for them.
“We promised in the Autumn that we would do all we can to maintain services for residents, particularly those who need our help the most. The budget we’re proposing will protect vital services and ensure that we continue to provide the right support, services and advice to our residents as they seek to balance their own budgets.”
The proposed budget reflects the commitments made in the council’s Corporate Plan to deliver a cleaner, greener and healthier Hertfordshire, including:
- £38m to ensure adult care providers can continue to support residents – including a 9.68% wage increase for care staff to help recruitment and retention, matching the increase in the national living wage and continuing to ensure that Hertfordshire care wages are well above both the national and real living wages (supported by the social care precept)
- £15m is expected from the extension of the Household Support Fund to support our most vulnerable residents with the cost of living
- An extra £19m for Childrens’ Services, including an extra £5.2m to support the children in our care
- £10m for home-to-school transport for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities to ensure they can get to school easily
- £6.4m to support waste disposal services, alongside new contracts that will mean that no waste in the county will go to landfill from 2024.
- £4.6m of extra funding into highways revenue budgets to cover inflation and ensure we can continue repairs and maintenance work on our roads.
- £36.4m to continue our work to improve recycling centres and make our waste infrastructure fit for the future
- Funding to continue moving forward the Brookfield Riverside and Garden Village developments in Broxbourne
- Continuing to invest in our website to enable more people to carry out transactions online.
The county council is also investing in projects that will ensure future savings. This investment will go into a number of projects that will help residents remain independent for longer, keep families together through early intervention schemes and save taxpayers money by transforming partnership working.
These proposed budget plans will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet on Monday 16 January.
Notes to editors
Following the Cabinet meeting on 16 January, the budget plans will also be considered by each cross-party Cabinet panel. The final financial recommendations will be considered by Cabinet on Tuesday 21 February, and the final budget, including the proposed council tax increase, will be presented to the full County Council for approval on Wednesday 22 February.
These meetings can all be watched online at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/watchmeetings
Interviews with Richard Roberts will be considered please contact the press office to register your interest.
The county council spends just over £1billion a year on delivering essential services to residents, consisting of:
- £442.7m on Adult Care, Health & Wellbeing
- £95.4m on Public Health & Community Safety
- £58.3m on The Environment
- £77.4m on Highways & Transport
- £3.2m on Growth, Infrastructure & Planning
- £210.4m on Children’s Young People & Lifelong Learning
- £130.7m on Resources & Performance including the costs of financing our capital investment
Budget consultation
The county council ran a budget consultation to get residents views on how it prioritises spending for the next financial year. Nearly 3,000 people responded and feedback from the consultation said:
- Over half of respondents either strongly agreed, agreed or neither agreed or disagreed that the county council should increase council tax.
- Social care was considered the most important issue facing the county closely followed by Education and schools and then Public Health.
- The rise in the cost of living was considered the most important issue facing individuals in Hertfordshire.
- Out of the 16 commitments made across each of our four strategic priorities in the corporate plan, respondents felt that ‘giving every child the best possible start in life through early years education’ and childcare, a place at a good school, and support for those with additional needs’ was the most important.
- The majority of respondents said that services that benefit most residents and tax payers, and services that only benefit the most vulnerable or in need should be equally considered. However, more people said the county council should focus on services that benefit the majority of residents and taxpayers.
- Nearly 80% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the county council should streamline services when thinking about budget pressures.
- Over 70% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that we should continue to help people help themselves to alleviate pressures on our services.
About Hertfordshire County Council
We are Hertfordshire County Council. We are responsible for delivering hundreds of services to the 1.2million people who live in the county.
When our residents pay their council tax, they trust us to keep them safe at home and out in the community, to act with care and compassion, and to make Hertfordshire a great place to live and work, where everyone feels welcome.
We support Hertfordshire residents from the earliest moments right through to the late stages of life.
To find out more about all the services we provide and what we deliver for our residents visit: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/weare
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