East Suffolk Council Budget Consultation 2021/22

Remaining financially sustainable is one of the key five themes in the East Suffolk Strategic Plan - We will grow and prosper as a council; we will ensure we are well-run; provide value for money and strive for excellence.

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented significant additional financial challenges to the Council and the outlook is very uncertain at this stage for both next year and the medium term. We are supporting our communities with increased spending to meet the emergency response costs of the pandemic and we are seeing an increase in demand for council services. At the same time, the income we receive, which supports the services we deliver, has seen large reductions.

Emergency Government funding and the Council’s robust reserves position are enabling it to meet these challenges and develop its response to the pandemic. However, like other local authorities, the Council faces a challenging environment over the next few years and will see increasing pressure on the Council’s finances.

This budget consultation reflects the uncertainty that we face, but it also sets our approach to ensuring we can support our communities and businesses recover. Being financially sustainable is central to this organisation – streamlining services; making best use of our assets; being commercially astute; optimising our financial investments and grant opportunities; and reviewing service delivery with our partners.

How is the consultation being carried out?

This consultation provides an opportunity for you to review and comment on East Suffolk Council’s approach to Financial Sustainability and meeting the budget challenges ahead.

We would like the views of residents, partners, and businesses. The deadline for responses to this consultation is 5pm, Friday 22 January 2021.

All individual responses will be anonymised. Response on behalf of an organisation may have their comments attributed to them in the final report.

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* 1. Are you responding to this consultation (please tick one box only):

As a local resident

As a local business

As both a resident and a business

On behalf of an organisation (please tell us which one below)

Other (please specify below)

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* 2. If you selected 'other' or 'organisation' above please give us more details here:

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* 3. What is your postcode? (Please provide the first section only, e.g. NR33, IP12):

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* 4. Which age group are you in?

Under 16

16 - 24

25 - 34

35 - 44

45 - 54

55 - 64

65 - 74

75+

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* 5. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following approaches?

	Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	Don't know
Increasing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs	Increasing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Strongly agree	Increasing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Tend to agree	Increasing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Tend to disagree	Increasing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Strongly disagree	Increasing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Don't know
Introducing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs	Introducing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Strongly agree	Introducing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Tend to agree	Introducing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Tend to disagree	Introducing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Strongly disagree	Introducing fees and charges for some services (where permitted) to cover their costs Don't know
Increasing income from existing trading services or through selling other services	Increasing income from existing trading services or through selling other services Strongly agree	Increasing income from existing trading services or through selling other services Tend to agree	Increasing income from existing trading services or through selling other services Tend to disagree	Increasing income from existing trading services or through selling other services Strongly disagree	Increasing income from existing trading services or through selling other services Don't know
Making more services available online	Making more services available online Strongly agree	Making more services available online Tend to agree	Making more services available online Tend to disagree	Making more services available online Strongly disagree	Making more services available online Don't know
Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and property	Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and property Strongly agree	Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and property Tend to agree	Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and property Tend to disagree	Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and property Strongly disagree	Making more efficient use of council assets such as land and property Don't know
Using our land and buildings to generate income	Using our land and buildings to generate income Strongly agree	Using our land and buildings to generate income Tend to agree	Using our land and buildings to generate income Tend to disagree	Using our land and buildings to generate income Strongly disagree	Using our land and buildings to generate income Don't know
Changing the way some discretionary services are delivered	Changing the way some discretionary services are delivered Strongly agree	Changing the way some discretionary services are delivered Tend to agree	Changing the way some discretionary services are delivered Tend to disagree	Changing the way some discretionary services are delivered Strongly disagree	Changing the way some discretionary services are delivered Don't know
Reducing the quality of some services	Reducing the quality of some services Strongly agree	Reducing the quality of some services Tend to agree	Reducing the quality of some services Tend to disagree	Reducing the quality of some services Strongly disagree	Reducing the quality of some services Don't know
Sharing services with other councils and public agencies	Sharing services with other councils and public agencies Strongly agree	Sharing services with other councils and public agencies Tend to agree	Sharing services with other councils and public agencies Tend to disagree	Sharing services with other councils and public agencies Strongly disagree	Sharing services with other councils and public agencies Don't know
Transferring services to other organisations such as commercial companies	Transferring services to other organisations such as commercial companies Strongly agree	Transferring services to other organisations such as commercial companies Tend to agree	Transferring services to other organisations such as commercial companies Tend to disagree	Transferring services to other organisations such as commercial companies Strongly disagree	Transferring services to other organisations such as commercial companies Don't know
Transferring services to other organisations such as community groups, social enterprises or town and parish councils	Transferring services to other organisations such as community groups, social enterprises or town and parish councils Strongly agree	Transferring services to other organisations such as community groups, social enterprises or town and parish councils Tend to agree	Transferring services to other organisations such as community groups, social enterprises or town and parish councils Tend to disagree	Transferring services to other organisations such as community groups, social enterprises or town and parish councils Strongly disagree	Transferring services to other organisations such as community groups, social enterprises or town and parish councils Don't know
Investing in commercial opportunities that support our priorities and bring money into East Suffolk	Investing in commercial opportunities that support our priorities and bring money into East Suffolk Strongly agree	Investing in commercial opportunities that support our priorities and bring money into East Suffolk Tend to agree	Investing in commercial opportunities that support our priorities and bring money into East Suffolk Tend to disagree	Investing in commercial opportunities that support our priorities and bring money into East Suffolk Strongly disagree	Investing in commercial opportunities that support our priorities and bring money into East Suffolk Don't know

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* 6. Do you have any other suggestions or comments you would like to add?

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* 7. The Council has some additional Government funding available to support businesses in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Do you have any suggestions as to how this funding might be used most efficiently?

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You're about to submit your response. By doing this, you give us permission to analyse and include your response in our results. After you click submit, you will no longer be able to go back and change any of your answers.

If you provide an email address, you will be sent a receipt and link to a PDF copy of your response.

East Suffolk Council Budget Consultation 2021/22

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* 1. Are you responding to this consultation (please tick one box only):

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* 2. If you selected 'other' or 'organisation' above please give us more details here:

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* 3. What is your postcode? (Please provide the first section only, e.g. NR33, IP12):

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* 4. Which age group are you in?

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* 5. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following approaches?

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* 6. Do you have any other suggestions or comments you would like to add?

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* 7. The Council has some additional Government funding available to support businesses in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Do you have any suggestions as to how this funding might be used most efficiently?

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* 8. Email address (optional):