Safer streets and more support for children and young people in Council’s budget proposals

There’s significant investment in support for vulnerable children, cleaner streets, road safety and safer neighbourhoods in Rotherham Council’s budget proposals for the coming year.

The spending plans are set out in the Budget & Council Tax 2022/23 & Medium-Term Financial Strategy report, published on 31 January 2022.

An extension of the Council’s Neighbourhoods Road Safety programme, with two new dedicated staff, would be worth a total of up to £1.19m per year to respond to local concerns. A further £310,000 will complete an upgrade of the borough’s CCTV with a dedicated post to manage this going forward. 

Nearly half a million pounds a year is proposed to extend the contracts of seasonal street cleaner and grounds maintenance staff, which would mean additional grass cutting and weed clearance across the borough, as well as new street sweeping vehicles.

And a package totalling more than £700,000 a year will support young people with additional youth work, support for children at risk of child criminal exploitation, and the reintroduction of grants to help low income families with the cost of school uniforms.

In keeping its commitment to provide high quality adult social care to those who need it, the budget plans uplifts in funding for care homes, supported living and day care. Hundreds of Social Care Personal Assistants are proposed to receive an increase in pay to bring them in line with the Real Living Wage. Overall, the cost of providing Adult Social Care to Rotherham residents next year is expected to increase by £11m. This would partially be met by increasing the government’s Adult Social Care Levy on Council Tax bills by 3%.

A further 1.5% increase on general Council Tax is also recommended, meaning the overall increase in bills to households would be below the government’s maximum recommended increase for the third successive year. For the average Rotherham household, the total increase amounts to 93p per week.

But if plans are agreed support for the lowest income households will be strengthened for the next two years, and nearly one in five of all households of working age (14,500 households initially) will receive additional Council Tax support “Top Up” payments of up to £112, in recognition of the disproportionate impact the rising cost of living has on those with the least. 

Councillor Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, said: “The last ten years have seen a combination of rising costs and reductions in government funding, meaning that council services in Rotherham like everywhere else in the country have had to be reduced and cut back. But because we have taken the tough decisions over that time, we meet these challenges in a stronger position than many other councils now find themselves in. That means that we can put money into residents’ priorities: safer streets, a cleaner environment and supporting our children and young people. We want all our neighbourhoods to look and feel better for everyone who lives in them.

“Whilst the Council’s finances remain challenging, we still have savings to make, and the rising cost of inflation and National Insurance challenges us just as it does local households, we also need to live up to our commitment that no one should get left behind. That’s why we are prioritising funding for social care and helping to increase the pay of vital frontline social care staff, including hundreds of personal assistants, who deserve much more than just the legal minimum. It’s why we’re reintroducing grants for low-income families to help with the cost of school uniforms, adding to our existing plans for free school meals during school holidays. And why our Council Tax Support Top Up will give extra protection to many of the families who are most vulnerable to the rising cost of living.”

The Council’s budget proposals for 2022/23 include a revenue budget of almost £260m – the money the Council uses for providing day-to-day services – and capital expenditure of £244m, which is for one-off costs on equipment or investment in longer-term developments.

Examples of investment proposed in supporting vulnerable children include:

  • £130,000 more for Family Group Conferencing to support families where children are at risk of going into care, and keep them together where it’s safe to do so
  • £180,000 for an expansion of youth services to engage with more young people out of school hours at more locations across the borough
  • An extra £200,000 to develop services for children with Special Educational Needs

Examples of investments proposed in improving the environment include:

  • £6.4m capital investment to decarbonise public buildings and dramatically reduce emissions
  • Almost £500,000 for grounds maintenance and cleaner streets, including two extra grass cuts and weed spraying, cycle route maintenance, litter and leaf clearance.
  • £42,000 to develop more pollinator friendly approaches to grounds maintenance and £50,000 to support a tree planting programme which will see thousands of new trees planted across the borough over the next two years.

Examples of investment in safer neighbourhoods include:

  • An extra £60,000 revenue and £250,000 capital investment in CCTV cameras
  • An extra £90,000 revenue and £1.1m capital to fund road safety schemes
  • Investment in the Evolve Team to further develop services to tackle Child Criminal Exploitation through specialist safeguarding intervention and support.

The Council’s budget proposals will be considered by Cabinet on Monday 14 February and go before Full Council on 2 March.

Published: 1st February 2022