East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s savings will cushion cuts (From York Press)

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s savings will cushion cuts

8:01am Friday 3rd September 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

CUTS to public services in East Yorkshire could be eased after council bosses revealed a six-figure saving in one of their budgets.

Fresh analysis of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s financial position has shown they beat their General Fund budget by £2.8 million at the end of July as the authority battles reductions in Government funding.

Its bosses now plan to transfer any money left over at the end of the financial year to the council’s efficiency fund to soften the blow of less money arriving from Westminster, and to reduce the impact of the public spending squeeze on vital services.

The authority is aiming to make savings totalling £7.5 million in 2010/11, having lost £2.2 million in Government grants.

A report by its interim director of corporate resources, Malcolm Sims, which will go before its cabinet next week, said: “Directors are continuing to identify base budget reductions to meet the target as part of the council’s strategy to deal with anticipated funding cuts.

“It is proposed that any underspend on the General Fund budget in 2010/11 is transferred to the efficiency fund at the year-end to provide headroom to cushion the impact of funding cuts and allow reductions in revenue budgets to be equalised.

“This early action to identify savings forms part of the council’s planned approach to the reductions in public expenditure and will enable reductions to be phased in through a planned and considered process, rather than swingeing cuts to services.”

The underspend included savings of £1.19 million in the council’s children, family and adult services directorate, £857,000 in the policy, partnerships and improvement section, £510,000 in environment and neighbourhood services and £359,000 in the corporate resources department.

However, the report also said the planning and development management section overspent by £166,000 because of reduced income from fees in areas such as planning applications, due to the downturn in the housing market.