Budget Strategy for 2024/2025
| Title | Budget Strategy for 2024/2025 |
|---|---|
| Resource | Finance and Corporate |
| Aims and objectives | The Budget Strategy for 2024/2025 will impact on all people living and working in South Lanarkshire. This will include people across all the protected characteristic groups as defined by the Equality Act 2010. Statistics for each of the characteristics are provided below where these are available. The population trends for South Lanarkshire have been collated from the Office of National Statistics, the Scottish Government and the census. The council monitors the uptake of its services currently by age, gender, disability and race. In addition, the Council has taken account of the potential for socio-economic inequality as a result of implementing the budget revenue strategy and is committed to consulting on those proposals which are agreed by elected members. |
| Conclusion | Included within South Lanarkshire Council’s Budget Strategy for 2024/2025 is a continuation of funding focussed on improving the lives of those facing income poverty or socio-economic disadvantage. This includes spending focussed on helping to tackle and reduce poverty and inequality. The Community Planning Partnership and the Tackling Poverty Team will have a particular focus on improving neighbourhood level outcomes and reducing the inequality gap, and through other resources, such as Housing and social work, funding allows service provision dedicated to providing support (for example the Rent Income Support Team, and Money Matters Team). The Child Poverty Action Plan, produced in partnership with a range of local organisations, sets out how we will work together to reduce child poverty in South Lanarkshire. The plan aims to make sure that what we do will make a real difference to families struggling every day to make ends meet and includes measurable targets that progress will be monitored against. The Budget Strategy for 2024/2025 updates a budget strategy previously agreed by committee, through introducing further funding and corporate solutions which has the impact of reducing the level of savings and budget reductions required to balance the budget. These include additional income from Council Tax and funding solutions resulting from underspends elsewhere including budgets relating to debt costs. None of these solutions presents socio-economic inequality. As well as a continuation of existing council funding, the Budget Strategy for 2024/2025 continues to support those who may be experiencing socio-economic disadvantage, including funding for social care, education growth. The Council recognises that significant disadvantage can be experienced by those encountering in-work poverty, including those in receipt of Universal Credit whilst working. We have refocussed some of our employability activity to target those who may be disadvantaged in this way. Our Upskilling programme provides paid opportunities for employees experiencing in-work poverty to gain additional qualifications which in turn makes them eligible for promotion, additional hours or pay increases and job security Our Making it Work programme encourages parents who are unemployed and have health issues and meet the eligibility criteria, to return to work by providing employability support which enables candidates to change career path, to try different work environments, and to work flexibility according to their health and caring needs. We continue to work with employers in our area to encourage Fair Work practices, and payment of the Living Wage. We also work with employers throughout South Lanarkshire to encourage them to adopt Living Wage accreditation, and lead by example by setting a minimum hourly rate of £12.15 per hour for 2023/24 financial year, this compares with the real Living Wage, independently calculated rate based on the cost of living, which is currently £12.00. The paper also proposes a number of budget savings, across all Resources of the council. There is a potential that there may be a disproportionate effect on children requiring support services at school due to savings EDR02, EDR05, EDR06 and EDR08 ((age, gender and disability) however, all possible steps will be taken to mitigate this by providing a wide range of additional support needs provision. Where adverse impact is identified, steps will be taken to limit the effect on protected groups. A potential small socio-economic impact has been identified in relation to savings M&O02, CER01, CER08, CER09, and SWR04, (age and disability), There may also be impacts across all protected characteristics in relation to savings FCR01 Community Grants, Civic Events and Gifts, and FCR03 community engagement. these proposals may have an aggregated detrimental impact across all protected characteristics in this current financial climate when looked at cumulatively. Work will continue to support and meet the needs of our communities and service users and therefore mitigating actions are outlined in individual assessments that will protect the most vulnerable in our communities. |
| Completed date | 24 February 2024 |
| Contact email | equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk |
| Area | Council wide |