Liverpool's Budget Challenge
This is an example Budget Simulator for demonstration purposes only, and is being operated by Delib with the consent of Liverpool City Council.
Welcome to Liverpool City Council’s online Budget Simulator.
We are facing our toughest challenge yet.
We need to find £90 million of savings over the next three years. This is on top of the £330 million of savings we have already delivered since 2010/11.
Every cut made will have an impact upon services we provide across the city.
Which is why we are asking you to have a go at balancing Liverpool City Council’s budget. Which services do you think we should protect? Which services do you think we could reduce, or stop all together?
Our budget simulator is easy to use and allows you to reduce spending across council services and see the consequences of your choices. You also have the opportunity to give us your comments and ideas. This will help us understand what is important to you when we make our budget proposals later this year.
Finally, we are asking you to answer an important question on council tax:
Would you be willing to pay more council tax to protect services for vulnerable children and adults?
This is YOUR opportunity to have your say and experience for yourself the challenges the council faces. Please start your budget below then use the services in the left-hand menu to find your savings.
The last three years have been extremely tough for Liverpool City Council. Since 2010 we will have taken £330 million out of our budget.
Over the next three years, we need to find a further £90 million of savings.
In total we will have lost £419 million in 10 years, almost 70 percent of our net spending in real terms.
A reduction of income on this scale inevitably means difficult choices about which services to retain or reduce. Regrettably, some services will have to be withdrawn altogether.
For the next year, 2017-18, we need to reduce our budget by £41 million.
Where do we go from here?
We are currently looking at all the available options - finding ways of reducing costs even further, looking at new ways to deliver services, stopping services altogether or changing the standard of services. Our priority is to protect services for the most vulnerable people in our communities and grow the economy by attracting new businesses to the city.
We are also asking if you would be willing to pay for an additional increase in council tax over and above the 3.99 percent the Government allows, to help protect children’s and adult services for the most vulnerable. This additional increase would only happen if residents vote in favour of it in a referendum.
We want to hear from YOU on where you think money could be saved and how you would spend the money we do have. We want to know what’s important to you.
Through our simulator you can have a go at ‘balancing the budget’. See what happens if you cut or boost spending on different services – each cut you make will have serious consequences which will be highlighted on screen. There is an option to read more detailed information about the consequences by clicking on the link available.
There are seven main blocks which are further broken down in to services the council provides. Again you can read a brief description about what these services do and the consequences of any budget cuts.
It’s important to understand that the consequences are cumulative. For example, if you opt to reduce a service’s budget by 25% you must assume that the consequences for both a 5% and 10% reduction in that budget will also apply.
Please think carefully before submitting your choices. At the end, you will have the chance to make suggestions, add comments or ask questions.
This budget simulator is just one way that we will be consulting on our budget. You can get all the latest news on the budget process by visiting our website at www.liverpool.gov.uk/budget.
We are also holding a series of stakeholder events with businesses, voluntary sector, health and other partners, and young people (through our Schools Parliament). As you would expect we will also consult widely with people who are most directly affected by cuts.
You have until Sunday 18 December 2016 to take part. Click on the ‘create your budget’ button to start.
Please note:
This budget tool simulates the difficult decisions that councillors will have to make. It is only a guide which helps us see what matters most to you.
The service budgets used in this simulator are based upon ‘controllable budgets’ or expenditure.
Thank you
Mayor of Liverpool