Everyone knows that Manchester City Council (MCC) is struggling with both cuts and increased demand but just how bad is it?
The graph of doom is a graphic illustration. It shows the point where Manchester City Council’s statutory responsibilities outstrip its income, the “broke” point. For Manchester the estimated date is somewhere around 2018 sooner than many other councils. This could of course move even nearer if there are further cuts in central government grant. The 2018 date partially explains why some of Manchester’s big programmes are 5 year plans (starting in 2013 of course) and that is all the time left.
In the more immediate future there is the Comprehensive Spending Review a biannual review of all spending by government. The current expectation is that Manchester will be disproportionately hit as the government continues to move funding away from the North to the South-East.
Unsurprisingly the level of anxiety within local government is huge and all kinds of initiatives are under way to try and increase efficiency and decrease costs.
There is an urgent need to pass over or pass on the responsibility for building liabilities. For instance almost all Manchester’s Day Care Centres are being leased out.
Funding for the voluntary sector has also been severely hit though it would be fair to say that not as badly as in many other city councils. MCC’s policy has been to try and protect the voluntary and community sector.
In the health and welfare sector MCC is part of a Greater Manchester Public Sector Reform process that aims to save money through increased efficiency but that’s another slide….
Links
MCC Budget Report to Executive 13 Feb 2013
The Leaders Blog