Cornwall Council cabinet backs £50m savings plans
BBCPlans to save £50m from Cornwall Council's budget for the next financial year have moved a step closer.
The Conservative-run authority's cabinet unanimously agreed a series of proposed spending cuts and tax rises at a meeting on Wednesday.
The council claimed this year's process had been made harder after receiving less funding from the government than it had expected.
Labour members insisted that the current Labour government had increased council's overall spending power, and it would review the funding formula for local authorities in future.
Other proposals agreed included a 4.99% increase in council tax bills, as well as an increase in service fees and charges.
Some services would also be axed, along with reductions in opening hours at household recycling centres and proposals to introduce charging in currently free car parks.
David Harris, council portfolio holder for resources and deputy leader, said an extra £22m would be spent on adult social care and children with special educational needs.
He explained these areas were taking up an increasing amount of its budget.
He said: "It's both growth in demand and growth in cost of delivering those statutory services."
'It isn't fair'
The authority had previously lashed out at the government's decision to scrap the rural services delivery grant and increase employers' national insurance contributions.
Harris said that had left the authority with a £6m hole in its initial budget proposals.
He argued: "It isn't fair. We were scrabbling around to balance the budget. We have done that by increasing charges and repurposing a grant.
"What we haven't done is stuck in a further cut because that wouldn't be tenable.
The government had previously said the rural services delivery grant was "outdated" and pledged it would be "repurposed through improved methods to target funding toward areas with greater need and demand for services."
The council said the budget would now be discussed and voted on by all members at a meeting later this month.
Follow BBC Cornwall on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].