Budget simulator feedback

On 17 October we launched a budget simulator to give residents the opportunity to learn more about the breadth of services we provide and to have a say on where they think we should be focussing our spending and making savings.

The simulator closes on Monday 28 November 2022. At the time of writing Thursday 24 November, 181 people had completed the challenge with the following themes emerging:

Of all the areas identified or savings and investment, education is the area that most respondents said they did not want to cut funding The average council tax rise agreed by residents was 5%

We need to look at how much we spend on third parties Leave hedgerows and grass to grow longer

More savings need to be found in adults and children’s services

It is difficult to balae the simulator because of the choices given which are not exhaustive - however a useful tool to see the pressures on the council and the difficultyf balancing the budget with the current service delivery.

Growing the economy is important to attract better paid jobs and more housing. Others said that too much growth can be damaging for the city We have used the responses to the simulator in developing this document