Kingston Council publishes proposed budget to transform services and support most vulnerable residents

The proposals set out how we will continue to provide the essential support our most vulnerable residents rely on, while meeting the financial pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic and persistent lack of government funding. 

We will be spending £147.6m on vital services for residents, such as people living with dementia, older people reliant on social care and children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.  

Also outlined is our investment in continuing to transform services and deliver them in new and more efficient ways.

The role of Kingston Council is to deliver services which make our borough a great place to live, work or study, as well as to provide value for money. This has been increasingly challenging as the money we receive from the Government has been cut dramatically. 

In 2010, Kingston received £66m from central government, this was cut to £0 in 2018. After a couple of years of no support from central government, we will receive just £4,000 this year.

Whilst there has been some money to spend on specific services such as education and supporting residents and businesses through the pandemic, our central budget relies primarily on what we collect from council tax and business rates.

In addition, the impact of Covid-19 and an increasingly ageing population who we want and need to support, means that finances have never been so squeezed.  

We need to focus on how we spend the money we do have, to ensure we can continue to improve the lives of the people who rely on us most. 

This means a council tax increase of 1.99% is proposed to help the borough meet the financial pressures of looking after our most vulnerable adults and children, as well as the impact of the pandemic.

Leader of Kingston Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance, Andreas Kirsch, said: 

“The decision to raise council tax is always a difficult one, but to help us meet the financial pressures, we have little choice but to ask residents to pay a bit more for the services we deliver to everyone.

“We know this is a challenging time with increasing costs, and although we need to make savings, we'll still be spending £147.6m on providing vital services to residents. This includes a new dementia care nursing home and more affordable housing, as well as delivering on other key commitments we have promised. 

“We will also be investing in delivering Kingston’s climate action plan, which includes installing more electric vehicle charging points, using more electric vehicles and increasing recycling, and providing a new community leisure centre and improved public spaces.  

“Thank you to all residents who shared their views on our draft proposals. We have listened to your feedback and will use it to shape future services and priorities.” 

The council’s draft budget for 2022/23 will be going to all the strategic committees before it is presented at Budget Council on 1 March. You can view the budget pack here.  For information on committee dates and to watch live visit the website.