Member Article

Thousands respond to Wirral savings consultation

Wirral Council has received almost 4000 responses in the first two weeks of its ‘What Really Matters’ budget consultation.

The consultation, which gives people the opportunity to have their say on an extensive list of savings options, was launched on Monday 16th September to help the authority to tackle a funding gap of £27.5 million.

Supermarkets, luncheon clubs and a recruitment event are just some of the places where people have already had their say on the future of their local services.

Council officers have also been visiting community groups, residents associations and voluntary organisations to find out what they think about the proposals that have been put forward by the authority’s Chief Executive.

With public roadshows, community meetings or a combination of both happening almost every day, the Council hopes to have gathered thousands more views by the time the consultation closes on 6th December.

This is the second time that Wirral Council has undertaken the ‘What Really Matters’ consultation, which last year contributed to savings of almost £50 million, primarily through so-called ‘back office’ costs, including efficiencies in areas such as administration, marketing, agency costs, car mileage and phone bills.

Last year, the Council was expecting to have to save £109 million over the next three years and, in spite of successfully saving £48 million last year, further announcements by the Government have meant that it must now find significant additional savings on top of what was already needed.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .