Cumbria County Council is required to carry out a 12-week consultation on the proposals to save £37 million next year, so I am asking for help. Please could I urge your readers, to look at the consultation document either on line at www.cumbria.gov.uk/budgetconsultation or it can also be found in your local library, read the background information and answer the five questions at the back?

The Government continues with its drive to address the country’s deficit, by giving all councils less money year on year. By 2020 there will be no grant from the Government and our only income will be council tax, fees and charges and business rates. We need to prepare for that time.

The Chancellor will make an announcement on November 25 which will tell us about additional cuts and proposals for local government, so we don’t know yet know exactly how much the council will need to save over the next three years; the situation could become even bleaker.

The reduction in funding from the Government is already so severe that there is no choice; in the future the council will only be able to deliver a smaller range of services and will focus mainly on those services the government says we must deliver. We would like to hear from people about whether we have chosen the right priorities?

Last year many of you supported putting up council tax. This year the proposal is to put council tax up by two per cent. Is this the right way forward?

Since 2011 the county council has already saved £113 million. This has been achieved mainly by reshaping the council. Sadly this has meant the number of employees has dropped 30 per cent to 7,000 and further cuts are expected. We have reorganised departments, reduced the number of managers and the size of the county council’s estate.

We have invested in new buildings which will provide modern working environments and enable the previously, very dispersed teams of staff, to come together. Importantly they’ll be much cheaper to run.

In order to deliver services within the budgets available, we need to look at them differently. Simply cutting department’s budgets won’t work anymore, so the council is redesigning services while at the same time, grasping the opportunity to modernise.

We very much need your views on the plans to deliver an efficient and effective fire and rescue service, the commissioning of adult services and developing housing which is suitable to allow older people and people with a disability to live independently (we call this ‘Extra Care Housing’).

These changes will affect the people who work for us and the communities we serve.

Please look out for drop-in sessions in your area where you can find out more information and share your views. Please get involved and tell us what you think.

Cllr Patricia Bell

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Cumbria County Council