The Government is entering into year 2 of the current spending review; for Trafford this means achieving a saving of £16m across its budget for 2012/13. This comes on the back of delivering over £21 million worth of savings this year.

These saving are required against a combination of challenges:

• Reduced government grant
• Increasing costs
• Increasing demand, especially in adult social services
• Capital investment in our asset base

The budget and service plan for 2012/13 has again needed to manage a number of issues and challenges, and still deliver high performing front line services that meet the needs of residents and businesses in the borough. Equally, high quality support services are needed to assist the whole Council in achieving significant change to improve service quality and reduce costs. The most significant of these budget drivers are:

• Reduction in available funding;
• The economy suppressing a number of income streams;
• A continued higher than average housing and council tax benefit workload;
• New government policies, including changes in Benefit entitlement, changes in business rate relief, single fraud service, future abolition of housing benefit, local scheme for council tax relief, local government resource review.

Despite the challenging financial environment, maintaining front line services and retaining their excellent or good ratings is a key principle of the proposed draft budget. It includes proposals to keep all of our 14 library buildings open, school crossing patrols in place and all our children's, youth and community centres open.

We recognise that it’s not just local Councils that are facing difficult financial times – many Trafford residents are too. Therefore we will freeze Council Tax for the second year running. Furthermore to support our shops and businesses we will retain some of the lowest car parking charges in the country.

The Council's Executive will be considering the proposals to enable the Council to deliver a balanced budget in 2012/13 at its meeting next Monday, 12 December. The budget will be formally confirmed at the budget Council meeting on 22 February 2012.

Executive Councillor Sean Anstee said: As a Council we remain determined to be open and honest with all our customers; fully explaining the financial situation and involving local groups, individuals and businesses in our budget public consultation. This has helped us focus our attention on priority areas and wherever possible look to find ways of protecting services by delivering them more cost-effectively or differently.

Savings cannot come from efficiencies and the back office alone and therefore we have had to make some difficult proposals. However, in listening to our communities we have rejected options to close any of our children’s centres or any of our 14 libraries, reduce school crossing patrols or increase Council Tax and parking charges”

To make your voice heard and help shape how we approach these difficult decisions we have consultations on proposals for Adult Social Care and Libraries available through the following links: