UP FRONT: BUDGET
Cuts force
more change
The council will set its 2019/20 budget
in February, including council tax bills for
the year ahead. It is considering a number
of savings proposals, including changes to
children’s centres and libraries.
A
fter years of significant
and sustained cuts, the
council has lost 64% of its
government grant since
2010. This means that for every pound
in government funding it used to
receive, it now gets just 36p.
At the same time, demand for
services like social care is higher than it
has ever been.
In the face of these financial
pressures, the council has already
agreed plans to reduce its senior
management team.
LIBRARIES
It is also considering changes to its
libraries. The council will consult with
residents on a plan to directly manage
six of its 13 libraries, changing their
opening hours so they are open
at times when they are most used.
The remaining seven could become
community-managed if interested
groups or residents come forward
with workable proposals and agree to
take on their long-term management.
This approach has been successfully
used by other local authorities and the
4
around ealing February 2019
government
cuts
council has started discussions
with some interested local groups.
CHILDREN’S CENTRES
Children’s centres could also change.
Ealing currently has seven main centres
and 20 smaller, linked sites. The council
intends to consult residents on an idea
that would keep the seven main centres
as they are, while nine of the smaller
sites would either stay the same or
be enhanced. Council services at the
remaining 11 sites would be reduced,
although childcare provided by others
would remain. The council would work
to maintain other services, such as early
health care, wherever possible, although
a few of the smaller linked centres
could close. If the changes were to go
ahead, Ealing would still
have more children’s
centres than most other
London boroughs.
CLOSING THE FUNDING GAP
Councillor Jasbir Anand, cabinet member
for business and community services,
said: “These are not easy decisions, but
with government cuts of this magnitude,
we are forced to look with fresh eyes at
how we operate and carefully consider
how best to serve the people and areas
that need our services most. For both the
library service and our children’s centres,
we have taken into account important
factors such as local need, accessibility
and geographical spread across
the borough.”
The initial proposals could save as
much as £1.95million by 2021. This,
alongside the £12.3million savings
announced in
December, would
help to further close
the £57million gap in
the council’s budget.
This gap is more than
double Ealing’s total
annual budget for children’s centres,
libraries, street cleaning, rubbish and
recycling collections combined.
£57m
budget gap
CONSULTATIONS
Public consultations on
these proposals are expected to begin
in February. They will appear online at
www.ealing.gov.uk/consultations