We want Cambridgeshire to be a great place to call home. We want to make sure we are doing the things that really matter for communities, focusing on the issues that will make a positive difference to people’s lives. This year it was confirmed through the census that Cambridgeshire has the fastest growing population in the country, and we are facing the most challenging financial pressures ever seen by the Council. We need to make difficult decisions about how we spend taxpayers' money, but we have done that by asking the people of Cambridgeshire what we should do.
This year, we will continue to focus on our three main priorities, which together guide and shape all of our decisions and actions to deliver our vision:
- developing the local economy for the benefit of all;
- helping people live healthier and independent lives; and
- supporting and protecting vulnerable people.
We will continue to do the right thing for the people of Cambridgeshire. Maintaining the services that we know are most important for people, as well as investing in our future.
Over the next five years we will be investing over £1billion in capital schemes across Cambridgeshire. These will provide school places for our children, and put in place the infrastructure that the people and businesses here desperately need.
We also continue to drive costs down in the way that we provide services. We have established the largest shared services arrangement in the UK to save money from our 'back office' functions like IT, legal and human resources. Collectively with other councils this has already saved £3.8m of taxpayers' money. We have also cut the cost of our senior managers, saving £625,000 in the last financial year.
These efficiencies help us to maintain our vital services as much as possible during a time when our budget is reducing, and the demand for our services is rapidly increasing.
In 2013-14, we require £491 million of gross expenditure to provide services to the residents of Cambridgeshire (excluding schools). The following chart shows the areas on which we spent last year and where we plan to spend in 2013-14:
You can read more about our priorities as well as find details of our budget for the next five years in the full Business Plan 2013-14.