Somerset Council: Everything we know about what will be cut

Somerset Council has voted through cuts to services totalling £35m, as well as an increase in people's council tax bills.

The Liberal Democrat-run authority agreed its budget for 2024/25 at a meeting on Tuesday.

It came after the council declared a financial emergency, saying it needed to find £100m to avoid going effectively bankrupt.

Here we answer some key questions on what we now know.

Somerset Council declared a financial emergency in November 2023.

It had been expecting an estimated budget gap for 2024/25 of £42m but said in November that the forecast had increased to £100m.

The council said the costs of delivering services, particularly adult social care, were rising significantly faster than income.

It also blamed national factors such as inflation and higher interest rates.

It had been trying to avoid effectively going bust and issuing a Section 114 (S114) notice, as has happened to other authorities like Birmingham City Council.

The council would have lost the ability to commit to new spending and take decisions if it was issued with the notice.

It said it will not need to issue a S114 for 2024/25 but "cannot guarantee" that will not happen in the coming years.

Somerset Council was formed in April 2023 from a merger of four district councils and Somerset County Council.

It said this also caused problems as it came to light all the previous councils managed their budgets in different ways.

Somerset Council has agreed £35.2m of savings.

It is ending funding for public toilets, CCTV, two tourism visitor centres and support for the county's theatres, including Taunton's Brewhouse Theatre's £119,000 a year grant.

Also, three parks will be left open overnight to save money on contractor costs to lock them, prompting concerns over vandalism and safety.

Some services, like CCTV and public toilets, may remain if town and parish councils start paying for them instead.

Yeovil Town Council has agreed to step in and pay for sports facilities at Yeovil Recreation Centre.

An athletics arena and hockey pitches there were under threat of closure from a proposed £165,000 Somerset Council funding cut.

A petition against this gathered thousands of signatures.

Plans to close five recycling centres have now been revised, although a saving of nearly £1m from the centres' budget over the next two years was voted through.

Councillor Dixie Darch, lead member for environment, told the meeting commercial negotiations with the council's recycling centre contractor were "reaching a critical stage" and could see alternative ways of saving the money come forward.

She said until negotiations are complete she could not "rule in or rule out" closing centres, but if final proposals include the closure of sites there would be a further public consultation before a final decision.

Subsidies for bus services will be reviewed along with funding for libraries, in the coming year.

As well as cutting services to save money, Somerset Council is looking to increase its income.

A proposed 9.99% rise in its share of council tax bills was rejected by the government, which has to sign off rises about the 5% cap.

Instead, Somerset Council agreed to increase its portion of residents council tax bills by 4.99%.

On an average Band D property, council tax will rise by £82.14 a year.

There will also be increases in fees and charges, including for parking, and the council is going to take £36.8m from its reserves.

Somerset Council has asked parish and town councils to step in to pay to keep some services running.

Smaller councils are not limited in how much they can increase council tax, which has led to further large rises in bills for some residents.

Bridgwater Town Council is putting up its share of council tax by nearly £200 a year for an average Band D home.

Yeovil and Taunton town councils have also voted through big rises, among others.

Police and fire services make up the remainder of council tax bills.

More than 1,000 jobs are expected to go at the authority over the next three years.

That would be 20 to 25% of the workforce and could save £40m a year. Schools staff are not affected.

A voluntary redundancy consultation is underway.

Unions say staff morale is "very bad".

"Staff are disillusioned; people aren't sure what future they've got - whether it's in local government at all," said Nigel Behan, Unite the Union rep.

"It's a big employer in Somerset, the council, and for a lot of these jobs to go - where else can people find work?"

Somerset Council said it had been in talks with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for some months.

Its request to raise council tax by 9.99% was rejected but further help could still come from the government.

The council is asking for something called a capitalisation direction, which is when the government gives permission for capital money to be spent on day-to-day costs.

Capital can be from selling buildings and other assets, and would normally need to be spent on other capital projects.

The council is asking the government for a capitalisation direction of £37.9m.

Council leader Bill Revans said, following talks with the government and civil servants, he is "confident" that will be granted.

It would mean money raised from selling properties can be used for paying day-to-day bills, and keep the authority going financially.

Final confirmation is expected from the government in March.

Jason Vaughan, Somerset Council finance director, told the authority's budget meeting on Tuesday that the situation remained "precarious".

"We are burning through our reserves," he said.

On the prospect of effectively going bust Mr Vaughan said he "couldn't give members any guarantee" that would not happen "at some stage" in the future.

Council finance papers current predict a £103m budget gap for 2025/26 so there will be many more months of debate and decisions to come.

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