COUNCIL FACING CUTS OF £1.6 MILLION

Funding cuts, announced by the Government, mean Thanet District Council will need to find savings next year of £1.6 million.

The council is facing a 6% cut in its revenue grant from central government for 2011/12, although further savings will be required for 2012/13, when the council will see its settlement reduced by a further 17.4%.

The figures show that, next year, the council will receive £10.475 million in its main government grant. This will be supplemented by a transitional grant of £1.076 million and increases in homelessness grants.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Bob Bayford, said: “We always knew that this would be a tough settlement from the government, given the fact that the country desperately needs to save money. We have been planning for significant cuts in our government grant over the next two years, so these figures come as no surprise to us. We had been concerned that we might face deep cuts in 2011/12, and we’re pleased to see that the transitional grant will help us to cope with that. We will be asking our local MPs to lobby for additional transitional funding for Thanet from 2012. It doesn’t change the fact that we will need to make cuts in our budget in the forthcoming two years, but it gives us longer to plan for those. The council hasn’t been idle while waiting for the government announcement. We have been working on a number of budget options over recent months and I’m confident that we will present a balanced budget to Council at its February meeting and our financial plans for the following three years.”

You can have your say in the council’s budget consultation Make it Count and help shape the council’s 2011/12 budget at www.thanet.gov.uk