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Bristol City Council haspublished its draft budgetfor the public to commenton – pledging to protectservices to vulnerablepeople, invest for asustainable recovery andkeep council tax down.

Our priorities are very clear. We areputting an extra £4.6 million intohealth and adult care to meet growing demand.

We are increasing our investment ingreen ICT for the council andexpanding digital facilities to parts ofthe city where there is low take-up by £650,000.

We are doing this because we want tobuild on Bristol’s strength in greenindustries and we know digital growthwill provide jobs and opportunities tohelp keep us out of recession in future.

We will keep the council tax increasedown to 2%. That means 50p a weekfor an average (Band D) home.

We believe the council needs to investto save for the future. For example,making our buildings more energyefficient and increasing our improvedeffectiveness on waste collection willsave us money in the medium andlong term.

We expect to gain £3 million in thecoming year from our ongoingprogramme transforming the way thecouncil works. This money will beploughed back into protecting frontlineservices where it is needed most.

You can read more about our budgetproposals on the council’s website atwww.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation

We’d like to know what you think, soplease fill in the form on our website.

Cllr Barbara Janke (Liberal Democrat)Leader of the Council

A message from theLeader of the Council, Cllr Barbara Janke

Bristol’s budget2010–11

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Our ability to invest in major long-termfacilities, like new buildings, will probably bereducing over coming years.

This is both because we anticipate that wewill be getting less money for new buildingsfrom the government, and also because ourability to raise as much money ourselves byselling off our own land and buildings thatwe don’t need any more will be reducedbecause of the recession.

We will however over the next financial yearbe seeing lots of progress on some particularbuilding schemes.

Hengrove HealthplexWork is set to start in coming months on the £22.6 millionstate-of-the-art Hengrove Healthplex. Local residents canexpect to see the contractor’s hoardings going up in spring andthe diggers and cranes moving in.

Once completed, visitors will be able to enjoy first-class sportingactivities, including a 10-lane, 50-metre swimming pool with boomsand moveable floors, and a learner pool with a moveable floor. Thepoolside itself will feature spectator seating for 400, ideal for hostinglocal and regional swimming galas.

The Healthplex will also offer a multi-purpose gym featuring 150fitness stations, a four court sports hall, healthy living zone and a café.There will also be a new car park, and a public plaza linking the facilityto the community hospital to be developed next door.

Building for the futureBristol’s docksWork on the city docks includes urgent repairs andreplacement work on the 140-year-old Victorian lock system.Phases 1 and 2 of the work – costing £11 million – is plannedto be completed in May.

The complex engineering work has involved new lock gates beinginstalled at Junction Lock, the upgrading of the highway swing bridgeand the installation of individual oil hydraulic power packs foroperating the bridge, gates, sluices and paddles.

Future works, which will be covered by Phase 3, include Netham Lockand Weir water and flood control mechanisms. These improvementswill help ensure that the docks can thrive for decades to come.

New council homesSpring will see the launch of construction work on 11 sites inthe north of Bristol where a total of 46 new council homeswill be built.

The scheme is funded bythe Homes andCommunities Agency andwill include a mixture oftwo, three and four-bedroom houses and two-bedroom bungalows.

Projects to refurbish and extend Parson Streetand Bankleaze primary schools are at thedetailed design stage, as is work to refurbishVictoria Park Primary, following theamalgamation of the infant and juniorschools, and to create a new school buildingfor Sea Mills Primary School.

The feasibility study for the refurbishmentand extension of Elmlea Infant School hasbeen extended to look at a range of different alternatives.

The council is working with the Local EducationPartnership (LEP) to rebuild and extend fivesecondary schools under Wave 4 of the BuildingSchools for the Future programme.

These are Ashton Park, Cotham, St Bede’s, St Bernadette and St Mary Redcliffe andTemple – as well as providing a new buildingfor Florence Brown Special School. The firstprojects are expected to be ready before theend of the year.

The LEP is also providing a new building forOasis Academy Bristol, extending andrefurbishing Bristol Cathedral Choir School andplanning to redevelop Colston’s Girls’ School.

Bristol deserves the highest quality facilitiesto match the highest quality services we canprovide. Despite tightening our belt, we havelots to look forward to over the next year asthis building work continues.

Where the money comes from (2009–10)

Council tax £174.3m (47.8%)

Business rates £132.3m (36.3%)

Government revenue support grant £30.5m (8.4%)

Area based grant £23.8m (6.5%)

Other £3.8m (1%)

Where the money goes (2009–10)

Adult community care £121.1m (33.2%)

Children’s services £85.8m (23.5%)Housing and environmental

services £53.0m (14.5%)

Transport, roads and planning £30.6m (8.4%)

Leisure and recreation £30.1m (8.3%)

Interest on borrowing for capital projects £15.9m (4.4%)

Corporate support services £13.7m (3.8%)

Regeneration £4.1m (1.1%)

Other £10.4m (2.8%)

The council’sbudget today

Our schoolsPlanning permission has been granted for a new £5 million primary schoolbuilding on the Brunel Field site in Bishopston and work is now underway, readyfor the first intake of reception children in September.

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The entrance and pool hall at the Hengrove Healthplex

New steel lockgates beinginstalled

Pupils from the Bridge Learning Campus, one ofthe completed projects in the Building Schools forthe Future programme

Photo: Neil Phillips/Skanska

Priority: Spending your money mostefficiently, and coping with cost pressures

In some areas, our costs will unavoidably rise. At the same time,our plans for next year to be as efficient as possible mean thatwe should be able to provide broadly the same level of servicesas at present, whilst saving £12.3 million from our budget.

For example, we’ll need to set aside £831,000 from our budget to payfor existing services that were previously paid for by a special grantfrom the government that has been phased out. This spending is onimportant areas such as reducing teenage pregnancy and education foryoung offenders.

Where we charge for some services, we will be reviewing our policies ina number of areas from April. In each case, we’ll consider the impact ofthe charges we make on the people who use those services, consultingfirst, and linking charges to people’s ability to pay as appropriate.

We think though that we can reasonably increase our income fromcharges by £300,000 in areas such as community support andsupported living.

Overall, in tough economic times, we think we can do with fewer seniormanagers too. That’s why our plans include spending £180,000 less byhaving fewer of our higher paid managers.

Details of the rest of our proposed spending changes are available atwww.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation

Priority: Improving the environment and looking after yourneighbourhood

From April we will need to spend £100,000 more than this yearon our waste collection and disposal – largely because of therising cost of landfill tax, where the government charges usmore each year for every ton of waste that needs ultimately tobe dumped.

This rising cost is much higher in many other parts of the country, andis kept lower in Bristol because local people are better at recycling.That’s why it’s important to recycle not just for the future of the planet,but to keep your bills down.

We know that in many areas, the best people to decide how servicesshould be provided at a local level are the people who live and workthere. That is why we are developing our 14 NeighbourhoodPartnerships and Neighbourhood Forums across the city, to let you havemore influence where you live. To start with, we’ll be transferring £13million of existing money and services to these 14 areas, and alsospending a new £500,000 to help make it work most effectively.

People regularly tell us how much they love the parks around the city,but often say how they don’t feel as safe as they could be in using thesegreen spaces. That is why next financial year we propose to spend anextra £250,000 providing a park keeper for every park in the city.

Again, details of the rest of our proposed spending changes areavailable at www.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation

Priority: Improving our high-skilledfuture, and promoting the city’ssustainable economic growth

We think that Bristol’s long-term health lies largely insecuring more and more high-skilled, well-paid jobs for thecity – particularly in areas like new technology, in the culturaland creative sectors, and in green jobs in addressing climate change.

That’s why next financial year we’llbe spending £650,000 to:

l develop and implement a cityenergy plan – working out howBristol can flourish whilst stillcutting carbon emissions andreducing oil use

l grow the city’s digital economy

l make sure that disadvantagedcommunities gain the full benefit from this hightechnology future.

Details of the rest of our proposedspending changes are available atwww.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation

Priority: Looking after the mostvulnerable people in the city

Every council in the country has a duty to make sure that itschild protection arrangements are as good as possible. And thisis even clearer after the tragic case in London of Baby P. That’s why next financial year we’ll be spending an extra£400,000 in this area, largely in employing more social workers.

We provide support to many olderpeople in the city – a range ofhigh-quality services, givingpeople as much support aspossible, whilst still allowingthem to live the independent livesthey choose with dignity andrespect. From April we areplanning to spend an extra£330,000 on very shelteredhousing to support one particulargroup of older people needingmore intensive care support.

Details of many other areas ofspending changes looking afterthe most vulnerable are alsoavailable at www.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation

Spending money on Bristol’s prioritiesWith these budget proposals, the amount of moneyBristol City Council has to spend on services (our‘revenue budget’) will be £393.4 million next year.

The amount we have to spend on long-term physicalimprovements like new buildings (our ‘capitalbudget’) will be an estimated £89 million.

Most of the budgets we set aside for services don’tchange very much from one year to the next, as thoseservices continue to be delivered year-in, year-out.

When deciding our overall budget proposalshowever, we try hard to reflect what we understandare local people’s priorities in our spending.

Below are some of the most significant changeswe are proposing to make to our spending, so youcan tell us whether you think these are the rightdecisions for us to make.

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Getting involved We would like to know your views on the draft budgetproposals set out in the previous pages.

Our budget consultation has been open since December, and closes onMonday, 18 January. If you haven’t already done so, please providefeedback online at www.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation – orcomplete the form below.

You can also:

l submit a statement orquestion to any of the councilmeetings due to consider thedraft budget in January andFebruary. See Budgettimetable for details

l raise any specific issue youhave with your local wardcouncillors. Contact detailscan be found atwww.bristol.gov.uk/councillors

l get involved in the onlinedebate about the draftbudget proposals atwww.askbristol.com

Neighbourhood Partnerships and Neighbourhood Forums will enableyou to have more say in how services are provided in yourneighbourhood and how money allocated to your area should be spent.

Find out more on page 20, visitwww.bristol.gov.uk/neighbourhoodpartnershipsor call 0117 903 6825.

Your comments on the draft budgetl Please return your comments as soon as possible, and by Monday, 18 January. If you have access to the internet it’s easy to

complete these questions online. Go to www.bristol.gov.uk/budgetconsultation

The council will be considering the draft budget in aseries of meetings in January and February.

You are welcome to attend all meetings and, for the Scrutiny andCabinet meetings, make submissions or ask questions. All meetingsare at The Council House, College Green, Bristol.

Meetings are scheduled for:

• Monday, 11 January (Scrutiny)• Monday, 13 January (Scrutiny)• Monday, 18 January (Scrutiny)• Thursday, 28 January (Cabinet)• Tuesday, 23 February (Full Council).

The results of this consultation will be submitted to the Cabinetmeeting on Thursday, 28 January, and Bristol’s budget for 2010–11will be finalised at the Full Council meeting on Tuesday, 23 February.

These two meetings will be broadcast over the internet atwww.bristol.gov.uk/webcast where you can watch councillorsdiscuss the budget live or review the meetings afterwards.

If you wish to make a representation to the Scrutiny or Cabinetmeetings you must provide your statement in writing by 12pm onthe last working day before. If you wish to ask a question at thesemeetings, you should submit this in writing at least three clearworking days in advance.

n Statements and questions should be sent to:

Democratic Services Rm 220, The Council House, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR

Tel: 0117 922 2362Fax: 0117 922 2146Textbox: 0117 357 4444Email: democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Budget timetable

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1 What one change or improvement to council services would make areal difference to you or your family?

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2 Are there any services you think we should spend less on whilst stillmeeting the need to deliver vital services and care for others?

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3 Would you change anything in the budget proposals to help deliverimprovements you want to see most? (Up to three)

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Return this form to Budget Consultation 2010/11 (CH/U15), FREEPOST SWB535, Bristol BS1 5BR