Andy Munns
Wiltshire Council is holding a public webinar to talk in more detail about its recently published draft budget proposals for 2024/25 and answer residents’ questions.
The council’s public budget webinar is taking place Thursday 1 February from 5:30pm, when people will hear from Leader of Wiltshire Council Cllr Richard Clewer and Cabinet Member for Finance Cllr Nick Botterill, as they talk through the proposals, which detail how the council will provide quality services while balancing the budget and not relying on using reserves. The link to access the webinar on 1 February can be found at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/news/2024/budget/webinar.
For the best experience, people should download Microsoft Teams to their computer or mobile device to access the session.
People can submit questions to be answered at the webinar by emailing them to communications@wiltshire.gov.uk by midday on 31 January.
Wiltshire Council Leader, Cllr Richard Clewer, said: “Local authority budgets are under greater scrutiny and pressure than ever before so I urge people to join us for our webinar so they can find out a bit more context on the proposals we’ve put forward.
“We’re proposing a balanced budget, while still spending on key services for residents such as investing in fixing our roads, without having to dip into our reserves. I look forward to talking with people about how our prudent and preventative approach has got us into this position, how we’re planning for the long-term, the challenges we face, and to answer any questions.”
This coming financial year, 2024/25, the council is proposing an additional £36m to be added into its service budgets, with nearly £25m of that going on adult and children’s services. Overall, the council’s proposed budget for 2024/25 stands at around £486m. More than half of that is spent on adult and children’s social care services. The recent Ofsted inspection into the council’s children’s services recognised the positive impact that the focus on prevention is having, with an overall Outstanding judgement achieved.
The most significant spending in 2024/25 will be:
- Adult services – £179.4m
- Families and children – £70.8m
- Environment – £49.5m
- Highways and transport – £43m
- Education and skills – £35.1m
More information on the council’s budget proposals can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/news/council-continues-along-prudent-and-preventive-path-as-budget-proposals-published
