Basildon Budget 2024

CONSERVATIVES DELIVER A BALANCED BUDGET

At Full Council last night, my ward colleague, Councillor Sullivan, moved the 2024/25 Basildon Borough Council Budget.

As he has said himself, this has been an extremely difficult series of budgets, given the unprecedented headwinds faced by Local Government.

This is also his last budget, as he is standing down in May, and while this budget will doubtless take its share of political brickbats, I for one would like to place on record my thanks to him, not just for his many kindnesses to me over the past 11 years but – at a time when we are seeing councils up and down the country handing in Section 114 bankruptcy notices – I am also grateful to him for his able stewardship of this borough’s finances over the many years he has held the Resources portfolio.

Ultimately, however, this is a difficult budget and I think we can appreciate, while it may be gratifying that Basildon Council is not insolvent, that is scant consolation to our residents, who are struggling. There have been difficult decisions and none of them have been taken lightly.

 

"There have been difficult decisions and none of them have been taken lightly."

 

The rising cost of homelessness has driven a coach and horses through our budget. It is an issue affecting Local Housing Authorities up and down the country and, as I said at a recent District Councils Network emergency housing summit, it has all the makings of doing to district council budgets what adult social care has done to county councils.

So, we have to raise Council Tax (by 2.98% - around 15p per week for a Band D property). Nobody wants to. It’s hardly a vote-winner! But it is what needs to be done to ensure we maintain the vital services residents increasingly rely on.

We are also putting up social rents, which as Cabinet Member for Housing, I sincerely deprecate. Sadly, there is simply no alternative if we are to keep the Housing Revenue Account on a sustainable footing. I am gratified, however, that we have been able to increase the Discretionary Housing Payment Fund and hopefully that will lessen the impact for tenants.

It is not all doom and gloom though and I warmly welcome the ongoing improvements at Laindon Community Centre, the new skate park underway at Lake Meadows in Billericay, along with all the new play areas that have been opened across the Borough, and of course the commitment to continue with the Safe & Sound programme of estate renewal.

I am pleased to see the free weekend and Christmas car parking in Billericay and Wickford will continue, to support our high street retailers, who struggle to compete with the out-of-town shopping destinations.

We have also maintained our commitment to put our money where our mouth is in addressing crime and anti-social behaviour through our Community Wardens programme.I welcome the additional funding for grounds maintenance, which really got out of hand last year.

I also think the Pitsea Community Diagnostic Centre, the Basildon Creative Campus and renovation of the Towngate Theatre are all important investments in the long-term health and vitality of the social fabric of our borough. 

 

"I believe this is a balanced budget, that protects core services, with minimal increases, whilst also continuing to make those vital investments in our long-term aspirations for the Borough."

 

 

There are precious few quick fixes in politics. It is not always easy to manage competing priorities of maintaining a balanced budget without putting an unbearable burden upon the taxpayer but I believe this is a balanced budget, that protects core services, with minimal increases, whilst also continuing to make those vital investments in our long-term aspirations for the Borough.

I cannot pretend I vote for it with any great sense of alacrity but I did so with some confidence that Councillor Sullivan has bequeathed to us a balanced budget for this year and, as he outlined, for the projected budget deficits for the next couple of years, so that Basildon will not be one of those councils issuing Section 114 notices and lumbering their residents with the prospect of tax increases of 20% or more.

We have dealt with the financial pressures of the last 2 years and, thanks to Stuart’s deft management of this borough’s finances, Conservatives will continue to deliver value-for-money services to our residents and long-term investment in their aspirations. 

You can read the full Budget report here.