Savings

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Savings for 2021/22

We've started consulting on a number of proposals and you can now have your say.

We're still facing huge financial challenges and difficult choices about how to spend your money. In 2020, this has been even harder and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will continue into 2021/22. Over the past 11 years (2009-2020), we've made £184.4 million of savings against our planned budget.

During 2021/22, we expect to save £34 million including the cost of the pandemic from council budgets. We need to deliver around £7 million of savings to address the pre-pandemic gap, with options and additional government funding being explored. These savings are expected to rise to £25 million including the cost of the pandemic in 2022/23.

After the public consultation, we'll review your feedback and provide details of this to councillors before they make the final decisions at Budget Council on Wednesday, 3 March 2021.

Your help and ideas are really important to help us save money.

Our budget challenge

We're preparing for a challenging budget gap, following reductions in government funding and increased demand for services.

In the future, as we'll have less money and fewer staff, we'll not be able to do as much, and it's important that we focus on the things that matter to our residents.

We're currently developing new and innovative ways of meeting the budget gap and we'll be working closely with partners, residents and service users to achieve this.

Have your say

Consultation starts: 9am, Monday, 4 January 2021.
Consultation ends: 5pm, Wednesday, 17 February 2021.

We need your views on a number of proposals to help us make informed decisions as part of our budget consultation. No decisions have yet been made.

Please read the details of the proposals and submit your comments.

Information contained in the proposals has been redacted, where relevant. This means that some of it has been removed to prevent the identification of individuals or identifiable groups. Releasing certain information could cause upset or distress to individuals. In addition, some information may be removed that is considered commercially sensitive. This will be a minimal amount of information and has been subject to a process of scrutiny prior to removal.

We’ve included the relevant draft Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) for each proposal assessing the likely or actual effects on people with characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010, where appropriate. As further details become available through the consultation process, the EIAs will be updated and finalised before councillors make a final decision.

Ref	Proposal	Savings 2021/22
ASC2122005	Changes to the Adult Care Charging Policy	£80,000
NH-2021-22-006	Review of Neighbourhood Cohesion and Community Centre Engagement Officer post	£31,000
NH-2021-22-007	Review of Town Centre Enforcement Warden posts	£78,000
Total proposed savings for public consultation		£189,000

There are various ways to have your say:

Online: use the links in the table above.
Email: policy@rochdale.gov.uk
Letter or questionnaire: post to Corporate Policy Team, Rochdale Borough Council, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU. Download the questionnaire (335kb pdf)
In person: as most of our buildings are closed due to coronavirus restrictions, if you're unable to use the above options to leave feedback you can leave your comments in person at Number One Riverside.

Other proposals

We also have a number of additional proposals which affect our internal day-to-day operations. As these proposals do not impact services to residents we do not consult on them publicly.

What happens next?

We'll record your views and consider the findings before making final decisions.

Following the end of public consultation we'll review your feedback and provide details of this to councillors before they make the final decisions at Budget Council on Wednesday, 3 March 2021.

Make suggestions for how we can make even more savings

We have to decide where and how to reduce your services or increase the council's income. We need to make sure the council's limited resources are spent as efficiently and effectively as possible.

We're always looking to improve council services. If you've any suggestions for saving money or improving council services please send us your ideas and views. Your ideas and views matter.

Email your suggestions to: policy@rochdale.gov.uk

Watch this video to find out how we spend your money, why we need to save money, what we've done already and how you can help.

Watch the Financial Challenge video on YouTube (5 mins)

Simple things you can do to help us save money

By doing some simple things you can also help us save money.

What you can do	How it saves money
Recycle more of your household rubbish	If we increased recycling and reduced general waste to landfill by 5% we would save £1.2 million a year.
Report any rubbish that’s been dumped. Use the waste and recycling sites	Dumped rubbish not only spoils the environment, it also costs time and resources to clear it up. By reporting fly-tipping you could help us to catch the offenders who are breaking the law; we won't hesitate to take action and prosecute. This should reduce the amount of rubbish that's dumped.
Dispose of your litter responsibly	Do you see untidy litter spoiling the town and countryside where you live? The cost of street cleansing is about £2 million per annum which includes picking up litter that's been dropped together with the cost of emptying bins.
Shop locally	Every £1 you spend will generate £4 for the local economy which means you're investing in the economy of our borough. You’re also supporting your local community, helping to support jobs and keeping money in the local economy. It does make a difference - supporting your local town centres means more variety and choice will remain on the high street.
Pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit Pay for other council services such as adult care charges by Direct Debit	It costs us less to administer Direct Debit than any other payment method. You can also pay for other council services by Direct Debit such as Careline charges and Adult Care charges for care at home.
Become a volunteer	Make a positive contribution to the local community, learn and develop a new skill, become a Community Champion or provide support to local people. Whatever you decide there are lots of opportunities available locally however much time you have to spare.
Foster or adopt a child	Looking after a child using an external foster provider is around double the cost of using foster carers we recruit. A foster carer's role is to work alongside us in supporting the child to achieve their full potential in a safe, secure and stable home.
Use your council website Other things you can report or apply for online	Please continue to use your council website to access services available online rather than contacting us by phone or in person. It costs just a few pence rather than several pounds to access services online rather than visiting us in-person or contacting us by phone.