Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report by the Chief Executive which informed that he had published a series of budget proposals for public consultation as the Council sought to make savings of £18 million in 2015/2016.  Appended to the report was the following:

·  Appendix 1 – Chief Executive’s Budget Proposals – Future Council Project – Theme – Delivering Differently

·  Appendix 2 – Chief Executive’s Budget Proposals – Future Council Project – Public Consultation Feedback - Theme – Managing Demand

·  Appendix 3 – Chief Executive’s Budget Proposals – Future Council Project – Public Consultation Feedback - Theme – Income and Efficiency

·  Appendix 4 – Chief Executive’s Budget Proposals – Future Council Project – Public Consultation Feedback -Theme – Customer Contact

The Cabinet was informed that the Future Council project had been able to identify potential savings of £15.5 million through changes and efficiencies which would not require public consultation.  If implemented, these changes would potentially reduce the budget gap to £2.5 million.  Options were proposed for public consultation which totalled £3.7 million in 2015/2016, providing choice for Members in setting the budget.

Councillor Phil Davies introduced Phil Goodwin the Branch Secretary of Wirral Unison whom he had agreed could address the Cabinet.

Mr Goodwin reminded the Cabinet that this was the fifth year in a row where the Council was facing cuts.  He made the points that this impacted on Council Services and that the Council’s workforce would suffer again as wages were reduced and workloads increased and that redundancy payments had already been cut. 

Mr Goodwin informed the Cabinet that the Council’s Budget Options, if agreed, would result in pain and the financial destruction for some Unison members and that some were already on below average pay.  He was aware that the Council had to make hard choices and proposed it chose the ones that caused the least disruption to Service users.  He also told the Cabinet that his members were “fed up with working in fear of their posts being deleted”.

Councillor Phil Davies told the Cabinet that he agreed with much of what Mr Goodwin had said.  Members had not come into local government to make cuts but unfortunately, the national deficit had to be reduced.  He was of the view that it could not be right that the south of the country had escaped with few cuts with some southern Councils receiving funding increases.  Councillor Davies informed that the responsibility lay with the Coalition Government.  He considered that a new Government was needed that would treat people with dignity and fairness.  In the meantime, the Council had to set a budget with the hand Central Government had dealt it.

The Council had managed £151m worth of cuts and had to be creative, innovative and radical in how it delivered Services.  Councillor Phil Davies told the Cabinet that Members must work with the Trade Unions to try to address this issue collectively as they shared a commitment to retain good quality Services for the Wirral’s most vulnerable people and that they must manage this as humanly as possible.  The impact on posts was regrettable. 

The Council still had one of the most generous Voluntary Redundancy Schemes in the North West.  It must try to avoid compulsory redundancies and ensure that those people who left the Council did so with dignity.  Councillor Phil Davies gave his commitment to try to protect front line services.

Councillor Phil Davies informed that no decisions were being made at this meeting on Budget Options.  He highlighted the fact that the Council had received a fantastic response to the consultation exercise which had been carried out, as a lot of people had engaged with the process.  Members would now digest the outcome of the consultation and look at all of the information that had been collected before making recommendations at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 9 December 2014.

Councillor Phil Davies thanked Mr Goodwin for his comments and told him he wanted them to work together in the spirit of co-operation.  Members had to listen to the people of Wirral, and they intended to do so.

RESOLVED: That:

(1)  Phil Goodwin and his Trade Union colleagues be thanked for their attendance at the meeting;

(2)  the consultation process and implementation described within the report be noted and Wirral residents, staff and other stakeholders be thanked for their input; and

(3)  the detailed consultation findings in relation to each budget option as contained within Appendices 1, 2, 3 and 4 to the report and the feedback from the Policy and Performance Committee Members which were provided as further Appendices to the report be noted.