Life in Salford 27 • November 2019 3
Working to make Salford better and fairer As your City Mayor, I have made no secret that times are difficult in local government. We have lost 60p in every £1 of our funding since 2010 at the same time as demand for our social care services has increased. We hope to avoid major cuts in budgets this year after careful financial management and changing the way we work. But this will depend on the final outcome of government funding announcements. Times may be challenging, but we are focused on keeping Salford moving, growing and getting better and fairer. Providing affordable housing is a key priority to meet demand and tackle our housing waiting list. We have looked at new ways of providing housing for social rents through Dérive and building new council housing (see page 4 and 5 for details.) We are also tackling rough sleeping. Rates have increased by a staggering 487% in Greater Manchester since 2010. To counter this in our city, £1.5m has been provided from Greater Manchester for our trailblazing A Bed Every Night scheme guaranteeing accommodation for anyone sleeping rough in the city. This money will help significantly to keep homeless people safe and warm, especially as we move into winter. People in all walks of life are struggling. Over the summer holidays Salford City Council provided over 3,000 children with food vouchers to keep ‘holiday
hunger’ at bay. Many of these vouchers were for children of working parents who are finding it hard to provide the basics. Hardship is an increasing issue for residents not just in Salford but across the country. At your council we are targeting support and introducing new reductions in council tax for people who truly can’t afford to make ends meet. Your council is also working hard to tackle the issues important to you and we have secured £300,000 to invest in reducing youth crime including mentoring and coaching for all young people serving a custodial sentence. We’re also combating the climate change crisis, one of the greatest challenges facing the global community. After announcing a climate crisis earlier this year, the council has committed to a city target of carbon neutrality by 2038 and, as a council, eradicating avoidable single use plastics by 2024. We have invested over £1.5 million in carbon reduction schemes with a further £2.5 million scheduled next year. Friends of the Earth recently declared Salford the most climate-friendly council in the north west which was a real boost. This is a great recognition of our achievements, but we are not complacent. We continue to focus on the best for our residents and the future of our city. City Mayor, Paul Dennett
