Budget Consultation 2010-11

Worcestershire people can take virtual control of the County Council's purse strings and help them to save millions of pounds, thanks to a new online budget simulator.

 
The council's budget of around £300 million is facing major reductions during the next few years and the simulator asks people to say how much they would use to fund each service.
 
Seventeen key services, ranging from social care and transport to libraries and childcare, are included in the budget simulator. As people allocate funds to one area, the simulator will show how much is left for other services and where cuts might have to be made.
 
The council is preparing for significant reductions in its Government funding between 2011 and 2014. Although the exact amounts won't be known until later this year, council finance chiefs are planning for 15 per cent less money, which equates to approximately £45 million of efficiencies or cuts.
 
An extensive programme of service changes and reductions is already under way at County Hall, known as Better Outcomes, Lean Delivery (BOLD). The programme is trying to find more efficient ways of working first, to limit the need to make cuts.
 
Members of the Worcestershire Viewpoint research panel have already had the chance to tell the council what they think about future funding for services. The budget simulator is an easy-to-use way for everyone in the county to have a say and will be online until Monday, August 2.