In October 2014 the Council reported that £69m cuts needed to be made in the 3 years following 2014/15.
2015/16 – £22m ; 2016/17 – £24m ; 2017/18 – £23m – due to Tory Cuts.

From DCC’s October 2014 Budget consultation

At that time the Grant from Central Government was £62m! ( You might ask how you can save £69m, from a £62m grant!)

The total money actually spent in 2014/15 was £199.2m – still with £62m from Govt. The Council underspent, and transferred to reserves £15.3m. Total funding was £214.5m

2015/16 – At the Council Cabinet meeting on 16th March 2016 it confirmed the plan to spend £225.6m (£26.4 m more than last year) with funding of £219.7m ( £5.2m more than last year). The Central Govt grant was £45m.

2016/17 Council plan to spend £223.4m ( £2.2m less than the previous year, but still £24.2m more than 2014/15)) with funding of £219.1m ( £0.6m less than the previous year, but still £4.6m more than 2014/15). The Central Govt grant is £34.6m.

2017/18 Council plan to spend £219.3m (£20.1m more than 2014/15) with funding of £213.5 ( only £1m less than 2014/15). The Central Govt grant is expected to be £25.2m

If the Council’s November 2014 statement was correct surely the budget should now be £153.2m for 2016/17 but the plan is actually £70m higher.

So why are all of the services being cut when they are spending £24.2m more than 2014/15, and the funding is practically the same.

Why is so much emphasis placed on Central Govt cuts when it’s not actually making any difference to the overall funding?

What happened to the £69m cuts that never happened?

Who is kidding who?

How is the Council getting away with this con-trick?

Extracts from the Council Papers that show the above, plus highlighting the extra £12m for 2016/17