In setting this year’s budget, which will be presented to a meeting of Wokingham Borough Council this evening (Thursday 20 February), we have three strategic objectives. First, to focus help on those who need it most; second, to plan for the long term; and third, to secure the benefits of working in partnership.
When times are tough, most people would accept that those who need help most should be prioritized. This is why we have sought to protect adult and children’s service spending – though even these vital areas have not been exempted from the need to make efficiencies. It’s also why we have sought to ensure that residents in financial hardship are given what support we can provide.
By planning for the long term, I mean principally engaging in prevention and early intervention measures, which avoid problems arising, or address them before they become serious. Prevention and early intervention measures lead to better outcomes for our residents, but they also save the council taxpayer money in the long run, by reducing financial pressure on services downstream. Investing now to save later is a wise use of scarce resources and we will continue to do it whenever it seems appropriate.
Planning for the future also involves maintaining a healthy level of reserves of all types to safeguard the council against future financial challenges. As recent experience has shown, councils without an adequate level of reserves are very exposed in these turbulent times.
I want to turn now to partnership working, which we view as a vital part of our approach to dealing with the current financial challenges. While other councils have turned in on themselves in response to financial pressure, we have looked outwards and embraced the opportunities that working with others can offer.
Partnership working involves the pooling of expertise, experience, data, and resources – human, material, and financial. To make our limited resources stretch further, in other words, we work alongside different bodies – other councils, the voluntary and charitable sector, business, the University of Reading – to deliver better outcomes for the people the council is here to serve. We are also working in a different kind of partnership with the users of our services, through the Social Care Futures initiative, to make our spending more effective.
Our commitment to effective partnerships has received external validation. The respected consultancy Impower recently rated the council fifth in the country in terms of efficiency, measured by outcomes achieved per pounds spent. In its analysis of the top ten councils in Impower’s list, Municipal Journal noted that a common feature was a focus on partnership working.
The current administration on Wokingham Borough Council does not have a majority. Passing the budget will depend on councillors beyond the ruling group. As the budget has been subject to close examination by the council’s cross-party overview and scrutiny committees, it should surprise no councillor. Indeed, in the budget’s journey through the overview and scrutiny process, it received remarkably little criticism. I hope, therefore, that councillors will support the budget presented to them. Responsible, forward looking, and compassionate, it should resonate with all parties.
Stephen Conway is the leader of Wokingham Borough Council
