Leader begins borough-wide cuts debate

On Tuesday 20 July, the cabinet agreed that the leader of the council would write to the secretary of state to raise concerns over the fallout from the emergency budget on inner-London boroughs like Southwark.

Councillor Peter John will call on Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to make representations to the treasury as part of the government's comprehensive spending review.

In-year cuts of £5.1 million will have a serious impact on the ability of some departments to carry out planned programmes of work, and the cabinet has called on directors to manage and mitigate the fallout.

Cabinet member for resources Richard Livingstone has raised the possibility in exceptional circumstances of using some of the funding that had been earmarked for officer pay rises, but which may no longer be needed in the light of the anticipated 2010/11 pay freeze for public sector employees.

Meanwhile work has begun to identify how the council can save 25 percent over the next three years with the finance director expecting reports from each director on potential savings by the end of summer.

At the same time the cabinet has reiterated their commitment to an open and transparent budget setting process.

Southwark Council's leader, at an event tonight, will signal the start of a borough-wide debate about rising to the challenge of unprecedented government cuts.

The leader and cabinet member for resources will then be undertaking a public consultation in the autumn for the council to seek the community's views on their priorities for services and savings.

Councillor Peter John, leader of Southwark Council, said: "There are significant financial challenges ahead, which we will not overcome by acting alone or by simply doing things as we have always done them before. We will work with residents, businesses and partners to transform public services for the people of Southwark".

Councillor Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for resources, added: "Residents will have heard a lot of discussion about government cuts. I think it is crucial that we are up front and honest about the scale of what we are confronted with and the catastrophic impact that will have.

"We now know we are looking at cuts to our funding of £5.1m for this year alone.

"At the same time we are anticipating cuts of about 25 percent  to our budget over the next three years. That represents about £76m.

"Officers are right now looking into potential savings, and I hope to have a report from the finance director in the autumn.

"We are all in this together, and I have asked the director of finance to come up with plans to open up the budget setting process and make it as transparent as possible".

The report is now available.

The debate begins

Southwark Council's leader will today (Thursday 22 July) signal the start of a borough-wide debate about rising to the challenge of unprecedented government cuts.

He has repeatedly underlined the need to be open about the impact of unprecedented government cuts and the importance of working with residents, businesses and partners to find innovative solutions.

The Fairer Future event takes place at the council's Tooley Street office. Councillor John will give a short presentation to stakeholders from a range of local organisations on his vision for Southwark and the financial challenges ahead.

He will then invite Mee Ling Ng, chair of NHS Southwark; Borough commander Wayne Chance and Chris Sanford, chief executive of Community Action Southwark, to respond from their perspectives.

Councillor John will argue that only through cooperation will the public sector agencies in Southwark be able to meet these unprecedented cuts.

Southwark Council's leader will today signal the start of a borough-wide debate about rising to the challenge of unprecedented government cuts. The warning comes as the council confirmed that it has already lost £5.1 million in funding this year and is planning for cuts of 25 percent to its budget over three years.