Friday 21 January 2011
The second round of proposals to try to balance an £85million budget gap created by central government cuts has been announced by Haringey Council.
Detailed plans for a further £34million of savings over three years were published today (January 21) for consideration by the council’s overview and scrutiny committee before going to the Cabinet meeting on February 8.
The plans are in addition to more than £28million of savings which were presented to the council’s Cabinet in December.
Central government cuts leave the council facing a £46million budget shortfall next year alone, and a 13 per cent reduction in grants – the second highest cut in the capital behind the City of London, and 4.5 per cent above the average for outer London boroughs.
The proposals put forward so far should meet next year’s shortfall and will go some way towards bridging the gap in coming years, although further savings will also be needed.
The impact of the government cuts means savings will cover all areas of the council.
Savings will be made through measures including:
- Closing some customer service centres
- Staffing cuts and restructure
- Reducing call centre hours
- Targeting early years support towards the most vulnerable families
- Merging some council committees
Cllr Joe Goldberg, Cabinet Member for Finance and Sustainability, said:
"Haringey is facing the most savage cuts in the borough’s history. We are being made to cut too fast and too deep – and trying to find these savings has been an incredibly difficult task.
We lobbied, and will continue to fight, for a fairer settlement for Haringey – which is already one of the most deprived boroughs in the country – but our pleas are being ignored. Instead, the government has prioritised more affluent areas, such as Richmond and Dorset.
Through our Shaping Our Future survey, residents asked us to support the most vulnerable in our communities, and we share that determination.
Leader of the council Claire Kober added:
"We don’t want to salami-slice services to a point where quality collapses - we want to ensure that the services we offer remain of a high standard.
We will do our best to prioritise services for the most vulnerable and those that matter most to Haringey residents, but the cuts imposed on us leave reductions in services unavoidable.”
The jobs of more than 1,000 staff have been put at risk by the government cuts and consultation has begun with those employees likely to be affected.
Final decisions on the 2011/12 budget will be taken at the Full Council in February.
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Some items from the Haringey document are :-
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Item 61 (page 5)
Children's Network
The Children Centre service will be reduced and services targeted to most vulnerable families. Will result in reduction to number of centres designated as providing the core children's centre offer.
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Item 75 (page 7)
Decommissioning of Neighbourhood Management Service
Close 'Neighbourhood Management' service, transferring key functions to other services within the Council.
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Item 59 (page 5)
After School Clubs
Resources from 'extended services' grant to be delegated to schools within their budgets. Intention is to secure new ways of providing this service through schools, other council providers, partners and a range of alternative providers.
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item 43 (page 4)
Commercial Leasing of Parks Based Facilities
Proposal to develop commercial leisure provision in parks in partnership with private sector/third sector operators. Noted that this 'will attract some opposition to Commercialisation
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Item 58 (page 5)
Parks maintenance reduced
Parks staffing 'efficiences' will lead to a 50% reduction in Parks and Open Spaces maintenance regimes. Nineteen staff will go.
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Item 70 (page 6)
Restructure Planning Service
Proposal will mean London Borough of Haringey's Planning Service will be 'one of the smallest in London'.
All work will need to be focused and prioritised. 'It will not be possible to deal with all desired planning policy, projects, regeneration and requests by public & councillors.
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Items 79 & 80 (page 7)
Cessation of 'Victim Support for young people' & 'Independent Domestic Violence Advocate roles'
No further funding available.
