There’s still time to have your say in Shropshire Council’s budget consultation  

Shropshire Council is reminding residents that they are still able to comment on its annual budget consultation, which covers the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. 

Every year the council consults on the budget it needs to set for the next financial year. The budget is used to support the delivery of all council services such as children’s social care, adult social care, waste collection, street cleaning, parks, regeneration and tourism services, which are paid for by grants from the Government as well as council tax income. 

The council spends over £575 million every year on delivering these essential services to local communities – most of which is spent on protecting the county’s most vulnerable residents.   

As Government grants decrease and the costs of providing children’s social care and adult social care rise, the council needs to balance its budget if it is to continue to deliver these. 

Peter Nutting, Shropshire Council’s Leader, said:  

“Thank you to everyone who has let us know their thoughts already. If you haven’t, please make sure that you take a look at our proposals and get involved in our consultation.  

“As I’m sure you can all appreciate, the current financial year has been unprecedented, with coronavirus impacting on everything we do.  

“This has presented us with many new challenges and, once more, we face a budget shortfall in 2021/22. Putting it simply, our income sources are not keeping pace with the demand for our vital services – services that protect some of our most vulnerable in our communities.  

“We’ve identified many solutions to help balance our budget next year. Please take a look and let us know your thoughts.” 

To find out more and have your say, please visit www.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved  

The results of the consultation will be presented to Full Council and help inform councillors when they meet to set the council’s budget for 2021/22 on Thursday 25 February 2021.