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Your Services - Your Say: Budget Consultation 2016/17

Throughout this survey we ask you to think about “your local area”. When answering, please consider your local area to be the area within 15 to 20 minutes walking distance from your home. Please tick boxes to indicate your answers.

What do you think of our services?
1. In the last year have you used any of the following services funded by the council? (Please tick all that apply)
2. South Gloucestershire Council is a key provider of public services locally, so we would like your views on some of the main services it provides.  How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with each of the following services provided or supported by South Gloucestershire Council?
  Very satisfied   Quite satisfied   Neither satisfied or dissatisfied   Fairly dissatisfied   Very dissatisfied   Don't know / Not used  
  Care for older people            
  Care for physically disabled and those with learning difficulties            
  Children's social services            
  Customer services            
  Environmental health and trading standards            
  Housing advice services            
  Highways and roads            
  Libraries            
  Local bus services            
  Parks and open spaces            
  Planning            
  Public Health (not including NHS services)            
  Schools            
  Sport and leisure facilities            
  Waste and recycling services            
  Welfare benefits and council tax reduction for which the council is responsible            

The Council Savings Programme

Like all local authorities we face significant financial challenges as national austerity measures continue. During the last five years we have reduced our spending by nearly £45m (from a net budget of £190m) through efficiency measures and this has helped us to protect frontline services from spending reductions while delivering better value for money to residents. At the same time we have frozen council tax for the last five years, supporting local residents through the period of austerity.

We need to continue to reduce our spending by 2019/20 and have already provisionally identified £34m of further savings. This is a significant amount, and will involve far-reaching changes to our role as well as the services we provide. We will become a smaller council, delivering fewer services, and will need to review our priorities to make sure our more limited resources are focused on our ‘core’ activities. At the same time we will look to work more closely with local communities, strengthening and encouraging communities to take greater responsibility for local services to ensure that people's needs are met. Your answers to this survey will help shape the council's decisions in relation to future service provision.

3. The council has identified the core services that in future it will focus its limited resources on delivering. How strongly do you agree or disagree with these core service areas?
  Strongly agree   Tend to agree   Neither agree or disagree   Tend to disagree   Strongly disagree   Don't know  
  Delivering jobs, homes and infrastructure            
  Improving educational outcomes            
  Maintaining safe and clean communities            
  Closing the gaps - income, education & health            
  Safeguarding vulnerable children and adults            
  Meeting assessed needs for children and adults            
 
4. In the future, the council will need to find ways to make services more affordable as it adjusts to its more limited resources. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following approaches?
  Strongly agree   Tend to agree   Neither agree or disagree   Tend to disagree   Strongly disagree   Don't know  
  Targeting resources on the most vulnerable and people most in need            
  Reducing the quality of some services provided            
  Increasing fees and charges for some services            
  Making more services available online            
  Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and buildings            
  Scaling back or stop providing some services            
  Stopping provision of some discretionary services to protect services to older people and the vulnerable            
  Changing working practices to make better use of technology and more efficient ways of working            
  Working in partnership and sharing services with other councils and public sector agencies            
  Transferring services to other organisations like commercial companies            
  Transferring services to other organisations like community groups, social enterprises and town and parish councils            
  Encouraging more people to volunteer their time to become involved in the delivery of services            
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Council tax options for 2016/17

South Gloucestershire Council is considering its budget and council tax levels for next year. Following the recent budget announcements by the Chancellor, the council would like your views on the level of council tax the council should consider. Please note that the council has no control over the council tax collected on behalf of the Police, Fire Service and parish and town councils. Each of these bodies will make their own independent decisions.

Option 1: To increase council tax in 2016/17 by 1.99%
This would mean an increase of £24.77 per year (or £2.06 per month) for a band D household. This would raise an additional £2.235 million.

Option 2: To increase council tax in 2016/17 by 1.99% and in addition to raise a 2% council tax levy specifically to support care for older people
Looking after older people, for example in care homes or with help in their own homes, is the biggest part of the council's budget.In his recent spending review, the Chancellor, announced new powers for some local authorities to raise an additional two percent council tax levy, which would then be used solely to support care for older people.
This would mean a 3.99% council tax increase for South Gloucestershire Council if taken. This would mean an increase of £49.68 per year (£4.14 per month) for a band D household. This would raise an additional £4.481 million.
Nationally, it is estimated that by 2019/20 the cost of supporting older people’s care needs will increase by some £6billion. The additional 2% council tax levy will contribute around £2billion towards this increase in 2019/20 if all relevant authorities take up this option.

Option 3: To freeze council tax in 2016/17 at the current level.
While the council is committed to protecting frontline services as much as possible, if council tax is not increased, this would mean cuts to council services because the current level of service would no longer be affordable. The council would need to make additional savings of around £2m more than those which have already been identified.
8. Which of the following options would you prefer?

What do you think of your local area and the council?

Throughout this survey we ask you to think about “your local area”. When answering, please consider your local area to be the area within 15 to 20 minutes walking distance from your home.

9. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your local area as a place to live?
10. Over the past 2 years, do you feel that South Gloucestershire has become a better place to live, is the same or is worse?

Your local area receives services from South Gloucestershire Council. South Gloucestershire Council is responsible for a range of services such as refuse collection, street cleaning, planning, education, social care services and road maintenance.

11. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way South Gloucestershire Council runs things?

In considering the next question, please think about the range of services South Gloucestershire Council provides to the community as a whole, as well as the services your household uses. It does not matter if you do not know all the services South Gloucestershire Council provides to the community. We would like your general opinion.
12. To what extent do you agree or disagree that South Gloucestershire Council provides value for money?
13. To what extent do you agree or disagree that South Gloucestershire Council keeps you informed about the services it provides?
14. To what extent do you agree or disagree that South Gloucestershire Council keeps you informed about any proposals for change?
15. To what extent do you think South Gloucestershire Council acts on the concerns of local residents?
16. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
I can influence decisions affecting my local area.

Your comments
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About you

This section is really important as it helps us to understand more about the people who use council services and may be affected by any changes to the council's budget.  Any responses to these questions will remain confidential, individuals will not be identified and personal details will not be published. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, you do not need to answer these questions.
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Any personal information that you have supplied will be held by South Gloucestershire Council in accordance with the Data Protection Act. This information will only be used as part of this exercise and personal information will not be published or passed onto any other organisation.

Thank you for telling us your views, please press the submit button below to send us your response
 
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