Following the news local councils won’t be getting extra funding to help with rising costs from the cost of living crisis, Portsmouth City Council has launched a budget survey to get public views on how it should spend its money in the coming year.
The council is anticipating an additional cost of £7.4m this year just from increases in energy and staff costs, meaning it will need to look at saving money from other areas of its budget.
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Leader of the council, said: “The council is affected by the cost of living crisis like everyone else. Things like rising inflation and energy costs mean the things we do are going to cost us more money. The government has said it will not be providing any extra funding to help with these rising costs so we need to look at making savings from within our budget. We will have to make some difficult decision about where to save money and where to spend and we’d like the public’s views on the best ways to do this.”
The savings need to come from £159m of council spending and are in addition to £108m savings it has had to make in the last 12 years.
The survey will run until 18 December, with residents being asked what council services they value the most, how they would allocate money and if there should be a council tax increase.
You can give your views by taking the budget consultation survey online.