Response to Local Authority Grant Settlement

Following the Local Authority Grant Settlement announcement on Monday 13 December there were no real shocks that Stratford-on-Avon District Council hadn't been anticipating or working towards.

The District Council has been planning for this announcement and has already identified savings of £383,000 for this financial year which are ongoing efficiency improvements and cost reductions, not service cuts as well as over £400,000 savings on a senior management restructure.

The Formula Grant is as expected and is in line with the scenarios presented to The Cabinet on 6 September 2010.

Councillor Stephen Gray, Leader says: “We accept that cuts to public spending are inevitable to tackle the country's budget deficit and the District Council has been working on a transformation strategy for the last 8 months.  It will be January 2011 before we get all details from the Government.

“As a District Council we will need time to consider all the proposals and implications in light of the announcement and work on the details for the budget in February 2011, but we will be concentrating on the delivery of services that residents value most."