Revenue Budget 2006-07: Information for council tax payers
The following pages give you information about what money we will be spending in 2006/07 and how this affects what council tax you pay. It provides a summary of the issues that have influenced the setting of the city council’s revenue budget for 2006/07. These include a review of the 2005/06 revenue budget performance, the level of council tax, the standard of our service provision, the views of the public via our extensive public consultation exercise, changes in Government legislation affecting the scope and the delivery of our services and the financial settlement provided by the Government.
The revenue budget relates to costs incurred in the day to day running of the council, it primarily comprises employee expenses, premises costs, supplies and services, the financing costs associated with our capital investment and general running costs. It also takes into account service related income e.g. fees and charges. The revenue budget is our plan of revenue expenditure in the forthcoming year, which determines the level of council tax that will be charged.
The city council’s revenue budget is funded from a number of sources including amounts we receive from service related income and grants received to fund specific services. This is referred to as total net expenditure or the budget requirement. The budget requirement is funded from two main sources:
- the Government via its revenue support grant and the redistribution of income collected from business rates (known collectively as formula grant) and
- council taxpayers via the council tax charge levied by the council.
The council’s strategic planning framework sets out the issues that must be addressed for the city to improve and develops a plan of actions in conjunction with our citizens, communities and our partners including the police, NHS, probation service, university, chamber of commerce and local voluntary organisations. The budget process is driven by this framework and aims to provide the means by which the council’s priorities as reflected in its vision for the city are delivered.
The city council operates a medium-term financial strategy that includes a three-year forecast of our expenditure requirements and anticipated resources. The strategy takes into consideration a large number of factors and aims to ensure that financial resources are utilised efficiently, economically and effectively. It is structured to provide the investment in our services and activities that are focused towards the achievement of the council’s seven pledges as summarised below. The pledges have been aligned to establish a clear link between national government priorities, the priorities of the city as identified with our local partners and the work of the council. The pledges are our longer-term aspirations for the people of Salford.
- Improving health
- Reducing crime
- Encouraging learning, leisure and creativity
- Investing in young people
- Promoting inclusion - tackling poverty and social inequalities
- Creating prosperity
- Enhancing life
Best value principles also require that the financial strategy takes into account the key messages emerging from the various independent reviews on the services that the council provides. In particular the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment, best value reviews and service inspections, and targets as set out in the council’s Local Public Service Agreement, together with the key messages from our consultation with the residents of Salford.
The formulation of the approved budget for 2006/07 forms part of the strategy covering 2006/07 to 2008/09. This financial strategy ensures that there is a close link between the allocation of resources to services and the achievement of specific service outcomes as illustrated in the following pages.
Next: How we managed resources in 2005/06
This page was last updated on 29 March 2006
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