We are proposing a number of investments and cost saving measures as part of the upcoming budget as we move toward balancing our budget and meeting the sharp increase in demands for our services.
Investments proposed for the 2025/26 budget
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Funding financial pressures from the 2024/25 budget - £12m
The council has an ongoing unprecedented demand for our services – particularly in children’s social care – which we are legally obliged to provide. The cost of providing these services outstripped the budget available, meaning further investment is needed to cover these costs.
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Additional funding to support services to children in our care - £4m
The council has seen an increase in the number of children coming into our care. We have a legal and moral duty to keep these children safe and provide them with the best possible start in life. The cost of doing this – particularly with children, some with complex needs, who require residential accommodation – has outstripped the budget available, requiring more investment in next year’s budget.
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Additional funding to support services to vulnerable adults - £2,700,000
Redcar and Cleveland has an ageing population and the council has a legal and moral duty to support and care for vulnerable adults. Because of high demand and rising costs for services in this area, further investment is required to fund these services.
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Additional funding for our waste and highways services - £1,577,150
The cost of disposing of waste collected from households will rise steeply next year and further investment is needed.
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Provide funding to our environmental services to replace grant funding which has expired - £130,000
As stated, a grant which covered some aspects of services has expired and funding is necessary to cover this work.
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Money to cover a pay award for staff - £2,262,557
Our staff deserve a pay rise for the work they do. This is negotiated nationally for all councils and further investment is required to pay for this.
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Revaluation of the staff pension fund - £500,000
We are periodically required to invest in the pension fund which covers past and present employees to ensure the fund is able to fulfil its commitments.
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Funding to cover council investments - £1,486,000
This investment covers a range of necessary items such as council vehicles, the upkeep of roads and bridges and the regeneration of towns and villages.
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Money received from staff work on projects covered by grant funding - £500,000
The council receives money from specific grants to cover the additional work carried out by our staff. This can vary across years depending what projects are being undertaken at the time.
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Money to cover inflation increases - £150,000
This investment covers some increased costs due to inflation during the 2025/26 financial year.
Savings proposed for the 2025/26 budget
The proposals below will be considered by the council’s Cabinet at a meeting on December 10.
The final decision about whether the budget proposals are approved will be made by the Borough Council on February 27.
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Sales of assets - £3,687,000
The council owns a range of assets, such as land and buildings. To offset the significant shortfall in our budget, we have decided to sell some of these assets to provide income in the coming financial year. Each sale is considered carefully to ensure it doesn’t impact on our ability to provide services to the public every day of the year.
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Develop more provision to place children in our care at accommodation in our borough - £2.92m
This will be achieved through additional council-owned buildings and working with local suppliers to provide quality, but less expensive, accommodation, particularly for children with complex conditions who require intensive care.
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Review of home to school transport arrangements - £1m
We have a legal duty to provide transport for children to attend school if they qualify for this under national legislation. We will review our arrangements to ensure this is provided in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
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Invest to save on energy costs - £75,000
We are affected by high energy costs in the same way as all households and organisations. We are investing in measures, such as solar panels. Although there is a cost to doing this, the resulting reduction in our energy bills means we save money overall.
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Renegotiation of revenues and benefits contract - £100,000
Some of this service – which deals with issues such as Housing Benefit – is provided by an external company as it was found to be the most efficient and cost-effective way of doing this. The contract to provide this service has been renegotiated.
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More efficient use of technology and reablement services in providing social care - £260,000
We provide care services each day for some of the most vulnerable adults in our borough. This will continue, and advances in technology mean our staff can work in a more efficient way.
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Review of opening hours at the household waste and recycling centre at Dunsdale - £12,000
The centre is an important part of how we deal with waste and promote recycling, but it consistently does not work to capacity, particularly in winter. We are proposing to make a small change to the opening hours but based on current demand, residents will still be able to visit the centre when they wish to do so.
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Additional income from fees and charges - £796,000
The council provides a wide range of services – some are free, the cost of some is subsidised and some are charged for. Although a fee is charged for some of our services, many of these fees do not cover the cost of providing the services.
The principle of these charges is that residents who want a particular service pay for it, rather than the cost of these services being added to Council Tax, which is paid by all.
Details of the proposals are available in the Cabinet report here