Sefton’s Budget and Council Tax set for 2020/21

Council Tax for services provided by Sefton Council will increase to fund the unprecedented demand on Children’s Social Care and to be able to continue to provide the everyday services residents rely on.Picture to explain where your council tax is spent

At Full Council yesterday evening (February 27), Councillors approved the rise for 2020/21 for the local authority’s services.

It means that for the provision of council services, it will cost the majority of householders an extra £1.07 or less

per week (figures based on a B and C property). You can see how your Council Tax is calculated and how it is spent here

The overall Council Tax bill – which includes police and fire services charges and the tax for a Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor – will go up from £1,662.32 to £1,728.36 for the coming financial year (for a B and C property). This excludes the amounts charged by Parish Councils for homes in their areas.

Sefton Council must address a shortfall of £9.14m to set a balanced budget for 2020/21, and at least a further £22.83m shortfall for the following two years. These further savings come after Sefton Council has been required to meet an overall budget shortfall of £233m since 2010.

Cllr Ian Maher, Labour Leader at Sefton Council, said:

“Since 2010 we have had to make savings of more than £233m – that equates to a staggering £722 per household in the borough – forced upon us by consecutive Coalition and Conservative Governments.

“The process of trying to set a balanced budget seems to be relentless and we now have to make further tough choices for the next financial year and our budget plan will have to reflect this.

“While we have an excellent track record of effectively managing our finances and delivering financial sustainability, this is becoming increasingly difficult and what the Government is proposing is simply not a viable solution.

“There are still huge pressures on both adult and children’s social care along with our schools but our calls to this Conservative Government for enough funding in these areas seem to go ignored. These pressures are only going to get worse and the Government continues to expect the Council to increase Council Tax to ensure our most vulnerable are protected whilst pretending they have “made available” funding – the reality is that they continue to ignore their responsibilities.

“However, Sefton’s Labour Councillors will continue to strive to ensure that essential services that safeguard the most vulnerable residents across the whole borough are protected and prioritised in addition to ensuring that financial sustainability is maintained.

“This is no easy feat and when I look around the Borough, I’m still amazed and impressed with the quantity and quality of services that we still continue to offer.

“Last night, despite this Government’s continuing attacks on local government funding, Sefton Council set a balanced budget for 2020/21 which will allow us to plan for the coming year to give the Council sufficient time to identify specific proposals to deliver financial sustainability until 2023.

“We will continue to work with our Elected Members and partners during this uncertain period and carry on doing the best for our valued communities.”

In the coming days, a full range of Council Tax bands and charges will be available to view on the Sefton Council website

A previous CEO on Sefton was reported to be on higher wages than the Prime Minister

Margaret Carny was once reported to make more money than the UK’s Prime Minister? In January 2009 with an annualised salary of £150,894, Carney beat the Prime Minister’s £142,500 salary. Including expenses and pension contributions she was said to have received a total of £176, 465 from the local authority in 2009/10.