Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report by the Chief Executive provided the Cabinet with an update on the progress of the Future Council project, and an outline of the emerging budget options which were coming out of the project, along with the principles upon which these options had been developed. 

The emerging options would be further developed and then published by the Chief Executive, as officer budget options, for full public, staff and service user consideration in September 2014. 

The appendices provided with the report, together with a summary of the universal, cross cutting budget options which were also in development, were also in the process of being discussed by all four Policy and Performance Committees, in accordance with the Cabinet recommendation from April 2014.  (Minute No. 187 refers.)

Councillor Phil Davies informed that as the Government continued to make significant cuts particularly to local authorities in the north, the Council had no option but to look at new delivery models.  The Council had to provide good quality services as effectively as possible.  A thorough review of all 81 Council Services was underway.  A clear process and timetable had been mapped out and there would be a very detailed consultation plan with all stakeholders.  This was a key priority for the Council over the next year.

The Chief Executive reported that the Future Council Programme was an alternative to the slash and burn approach that had previously adopted.  There would be some hard choices to make.  Options would be presented to the Cabinet in an attempt to reduce layers of management to avoid cuts to front line services.  This was a much more structured approach.

Councillor Phil Davies made the point that in an ideal world the Cabinet would not want to do any of this.  Unfortunately, a Conservative led Government was discriminating against northern local authorities.  This was where the responsibility lay and if the current level of cuts continued he considered that there would be little left of local government by 2020.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the principles described within the Position Papers upon which budget options and investment proposals are being developed be noted; and

(2)  the Cabinet accepts the need to proceed with the remodelling work under the Future Council initiative, but agrees to express our grave concern with further cuts by the Tory-led government to this Council’s budget, requiring additional savings of at least £45m over the next two years. This comes on top of the £109m cuts over the past three years. Cabinet agrees to write to our four Wirral MPs asking them to lobby relevant ministers to reverse these damaging cuts.