Have your say on latest round of savings plans

Steve Rumbelow, Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council

The council is consulting residents on the latest round of budget savings proposals.

An estimated £37 million of savings must be made between 2016 and 2018 after a further reduction in the amount of money the Government gives to councils to provide services, and an increase in demand for services. Rochdale Borough Council has already saved £143 million over the past five years.

Steve Rumbelow, the Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The amount of money given to councils to provide services for their residents has been significantly reduced since 2010 but we have also seen the cost of services and the demand for them increase.

“While we will continue working hard to identify savings that have the least impact on our residents, we must be realistic about the fact that there will be some difficult decisions to be made and we have no option but to set a balanced budget.

“The council has a lot less money to spend, so we want to make sure we are focusing on the things that matter to our residents – that’s why we need people to tell us what is really important to them.”

Details of the latest round of savings proposals can be viewed on the council’s website at:

rochdale.gov.uk/savings

Information will also be available in local libraries and council customer service centres, where residents can use free computers to have their say. The consultation ends on 23 October.

Another consultation on further savings proposals is due to begin in November. Final decisions will be made at the Budget Fixing Council meeting on 24 February 2016.