Introduction
Our budget this year will focus resource on those who need it most and what matters to communities. This means the overall budget of £134.5m will concentrate on vital services to support our vulnerable children and adults and services in the community.
To meet the needs of a growing population and offset reducing funding from government, a council tax increase of 2.99% is proposed, with an additional 2% to support adult social care. The Kingston element of the increase in council tax for 2019/20 is equivalent to approximately £1.40 a week for a Band D household.
Over the last four years we have saved £57m with your help, but we need to go further to meet the challenges ahead. Here are some stats and facts about our borough:
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We received £66m of general funding from Central Government in 2010 and no longer receive any.
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Kingston reported a £3.9m forecast overspend for 2018/19. This is 3.1% of the overall budget of £123m (excluding the ring fenced money for housing and schools).
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We need to save £12.5m this year.
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We have a growing population in Kingston, which has increased by 20,000 since 2011 and is now at 179,600.
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There continues to be pressures on social care and special educational needs and disability services as a result of growing numbers of children in need and our ageing local population.
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The elderly population has grown from 20,500 in 2011 to 24,300 in 2018 and is projected to reach 32,000 by 2030.
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Over the next four years it is estimated that costs for adult social care services will be over £7m more than we currently spend.
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Adult social care amounts to 40% of our total expenditure and this rises to 70% when you include other vulnerable groups such as the homeless and those with a disability.
For more information you can read the Leader's statement on the proposed budget or watch her summary. The budget report will be discussed at a series of committees starting on 29 January 2019.