We've all read with interest the press coverage predicting forthcoming financial doom for district councils in the next three years, with a £1.6bn deficit predicted, and council tax increases of 15% a year required to plug the enormous gap.
This shouldn't be a surprise for us in districts, though. Our medium-term financial strategies – if they are worth the paper they're written on – should have predicted this scenario. We should by now be well prepared. Shouldn't we?
Three years ago, at Chorley Council, we developed a clear picture of our fiscal future. The year 2011/12 would be our toughest, with more pain ahead.
At a time when the public expect more and more from their local council, and more from their local strategic partnership, we have the lowest percentage increases in grant for many years. But we need to stop whingeing and get on with transforming services around customer need and saving money.
In order to simultaneously weather the storm and progress on our improvement journey, we took the following steps:
