Officers from Aylesbury Vale District Council are examining in detail the implications of the provisional finance settlement from the government.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) released several figures on future spending on December 19 including “spending power” data – a calculation that the council believes may include New Homes Bonus money, which is paid by the government as an incentive to communities and councils to welcome new housing.
By this measure the spending power of AVDC is to rise by three per cent next year, according to the government figures. However, the council had planned to use a significant proportion of its New Homes Bonus money to support projects that town and parish councils think are necessary to offset any adverse effects of housing growth in their areas.
The government has so far not provided the council with information on how it has calculated the spending power measure.
The financial settlement has also revealed that the council’s core funding through ‘formula grant’ will be £7.3 million for 2013/14, a reduction of 9.4 per cent when compared to the same grant for 2012/13.
Councillor Neil Blake, Cabinet member for resources, said: “We were expecting bad news, and bad news is what we got. The settlement is extremely complicated, but in a nutshell we have lost about £800,000 in core funding in 2013/14.
“Since 2010/11, we have now lost, or will lose, over £4.6 million of our annual grant funding. This is approaching 40 per cent and we know there is worse to come.
“This means that since 2010/11 the government has reduced its funding for council services by £68 for every household.”
AVDC’s cabinet has been considering a draft budget that makes £1.19 million of savings in 2013/14. Members also outlined proposals to increase AVDC’s share of the council tax bill by two per cent.
The government has once again offered local authorities a council freeze grant, equivalent to a one per cent increase. This time the cabinet is proposing not to accept the offer because it means the council would need to find an additional £640,000 in savings over the next five years to meet the budget gap it would create.
The draft budget will shortly undergo a public scrutiny by councillors. Final budget recommendations will be received by cabinet on January 15 before going to full council for ratification on February 6.