Leader of the oppostion at Hampshire County Council, Cllr Keith House, says ‘savage’ cuts are unlikely to balance the budget

‘Savage cuts are unlikely to balance the budget’, said the leader of the opposition at the county council.

Lib Dem leader, Cllr Keith House, has commented on the public consultation that Hampshire County Council opened on 12th June, looking for residents’ suggestions to balance the budget.

Currently, there is a £132m gap in the county council budget for 2025/2026. At the budget and precept meeting on 23rd February the council approved filling the 22/23 budget gap with the budget bridging reserve, a total of £50.8m.

At that meeting, an increase of 4.99% on band D was accepted, and the total income from council tax in 2023/24 is expected to be around £840m.

Cllr House said: “Hampshire’s finances are a mess. More savage cuts to vital public services are unlikely to balance the budget.

“The problem is the underfunding of social care services from central government over many years that place an impossible burden on county councils, many of which are not now financially viable.

“Hampshire’s Conservatives have failed to press their MPs to support local people and local services. Time is now up for Conservative failure.

“I doubt the consultation will make any difference at all. The county council just goes through the motions with the consultation.”

Leader Cllr Rob Humby said: “Some really difficult decisions will need to be made, which will impact some of the services the county council can continue to deliver.

“We’re now consulting on ideas of how we can balance the books and would like to hear people’s views on how we can continue to make the most of the public’s money.”

The council says its wants to hear from “as many people in Hampshire as possible” through the consultation, from residents to businesses, schools, universities, and community and voluntary groups.

The views submitted will be examined and used to “shape savings proposals” that will be considered in the autumn.

The budget consultation suggests various options to help the council balance the budget.

These involve introducing and increasing charges for some services; lobbying the central government for legislative change; generating additional income; using the county council’s reserves; reducing and changing services; increasing council tax; or changing local government arrangements in Hampshire.

The consultation runs until 23rd July.

To take part visit www.hants.gov.uk/budgetconsultation.