Council leader seeks public views ahead of £140m cuts

Hampshire County Council is set to make the devastating savings due to a lack of government funds and austerity measures.

The multimillion cuts will need to be made by 2019/20 and so the authority is calling on county residents to have their say in regards to how the council balances its budget in the future.

Councillor Roy Perry, leader of the council, said: ‘Although we have been preparing for this challenge for some time, finding these additional savings is inevitably going to be tough. This is because we have already made significant reductions in our spending over the last nine years to the sum of £340m.

‘The picture is worsened by the fact that central government revenue support grant funding for Hampshire will cease altogether in 2019/20 – but demand for county council services continues to rise.

‘The steps that we have taken so far, have served us well, such as reinvesting in new, more efficient ways of working and making prudent use of our reserves to meet gaps in funding.

‘However, we now have to consider more radical ways of making ends meet, at the same time as protecting vital public services.’

The consultation, Serving Hampshire – Balancing the Budget, is now live online for residents with paper copies available by e-mailing [email protected] and are also available from Hampshire libraries. Head to hants.gov.uk/aboutthecouncil/haveyoursay to write.