Budget challenge

We will continue to lobby the government to ensure they make good on their promise – but if they don’t tough decisions will need to be taken.

We are currently working on a strategy to identify the best way to close this gap, and as part of that we will need to look at everything that we do to find solutions. This will include:

• Reviewing our strategic priorities – clarifying our purpose and what’s important or less important in the ‘next normal’
• Maximising our commercial potential – finding and predicting new income opportunities, understanding and maximising key sources of income, reviewing fees and charges, and working closely with our trading companies
• Driving efficiency in the way we work – thinking of innovative ways we can work to drive efficiency, being digital by default, reducing duplication in processes
• Looking at our service provision – finding the optimum way to deliver services, looking at shared service opportunities and at procurement and partnerships
• Exploring community relationships – allowing others to lead, reducing demand and managing expectations, devolution

We can use our reserves to help ease the funding gap we are facing this year – but once that is used, we can’t use it again.

A full review of everything we deliver will be undertaken, and that may mean that we have to stop certain services, or that some fees and charges may need to increase. We may also become a smaller organisation as a result.