Hampshire County Council launches new round of budget consultations

Hampshire County Council has launched its future services consultation, which is running until the end of March, to gain feedback on its budget proposal designed to make up for the multi-million shortfall in years to come.

The list of areas being consulted on include adult social care changes, highways maintenance, school crossing patrols, homelessness support, community transport and the Hampshire Cultural Trust’s grant.

The cultural trust has announced that a reduction in its grant would mean it would have to close five of its venues, with Hampshire County Council currently contributing £2.5m a year to the charity as its biggest funder.

READ MORE: County council proposes to close tips to save more than £1m every year

The Ashcroft Arts Centre, in Fareham, would close in the autumn of this year, Westbury Manor Museum, in Fareham, and Eastleigh Museum would close early next year and the Andover Museum and the Museum of the Iron Age and the Curtis Museum in Alton would shut in 2026.

Andover Museum is at risk of closure

Chief executive of the trust, Paul Sapwell, said: “Faced with substantially reduced local authority funding, we have had no option but to make some very difficult decisions. We intend to mitigate the full effect of the funding challenge through a wider business plan that includes potentially taking on new, more financially sustainable venues as well as growing existing areas of our business. However, new opportunities and growth cannot fully offset the reduction in council funding currently proposed and some venue closures will therefore also be necessary.”

The county could also lose its school crossing patrols. The council will review the service by looking at each crossing patrol site to decide if alternative safety measures could be implemented so officers could be safely withdrawn or funded by other organisations.

Winchester City Councillor and former lollipop lady, Cllr Vivian Achwal, fears removing patrols would risk the safety of children and increase traffic.

SEE ALSO: Winchester parents fear cuts to school crossing patrols

Cllr Achwal said: “The idea of that HCC are considering cutting School Crossing patrols is a major concern. I did this vital community job for three years.

"Having a crossing patrol person gives children the confidence to learn how to cross the road safely from an early age and promotes walking and cycling.

"The alternative would be for parents and grandparents to drive their children to school causing more traffic congestion and pollution.

“A young girl was knocked down on Yew Tree Drive in Whiteley several years ago, after that incident a crossing patrol person was in place. Young children have little awareness of the speed of cars, so having a school crossing patrol person to help children cross the road safely is a vital service that HCC shouldn’t be considering as part of their budget cuts.”

Community First believes cuts to its services would leave people isolated. Speaking at the charity’s AGM, Tom Houghton, chief executive, said: “It would be more cost-effective to sustain investment in the voluntary sector, forging long-term partnerships which lessen the burden on local authorities and NHS. Also drawing on the community expertise, local charities and volunteers to help people lead happy and healthy lives.” 

Community First's AGM (Image: Community First)

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Leader of Hampshire County Council, Cllr Rob Humby, said: “As our costs continue to rise, alongside growing demand for vital local services like social care for children and adults, our budgets remain under immense pressure. 

"We have almost exhausted the funding we have previously set aside in reserves to meet major financial challenges - that usually provides us with a financial safety net - and very soon there simply will not be enough money to go around. Delivering local services in future is much harder with much less money available, which is a problem faced by councils nationally, and one which local government cannot address on its own.

"In line with what residents told us last summer in our budget consultation at the time, we are continuing to press for a better, long-term national funding solution from central government to address these issues, but we cannot sit back and wait for that to happen."

Hampshire County Council is urging residents to have their say on some or all 13 of the service change proposals. Feedback can be submitted at hants.gov.uk/aboutthecouncil/haveyoursay/consultations/future-services-consultation until midnight on March 31.

Full list of areas being consulted on:

Adult social care charges: Proposals to change the way contributions towards non-residential social care costs are calculated, so that the amount someone pays towards their non-residential care and support increases from 95% to 100% of any assessable income remaining once standard outgoings are paid for and an allowance is made for general living costs such as food, utility bills and clothing.

Adult social care grant schemes: To withdraw funding for three Adult Social Care grant programmes that assist voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations in Hampshire, namely the Council for Voluntary Services Infrastructure Grant, the Citizens Advice Infrastructure Grant and the Local Solutions Grant.

Competitive (one-off) grant schemes: To withdraw three competitive grant schemes which provide one-off grants to a range of community groups and organisations; namely the Leader’s Community Grants, the Rural Communities Fund (including country shows) and the Parish and Town Council Investment Fund.

Hampshire Cultural Trust grant: To reduce the amount of grant given to Hampshire Cultural Trust to manage and deliver arts and museums services.

Highways maintenance: To reduce planned highways maintenance activities, incorporating larger-scale structural repairs, surface treatments on roads, and drainage improvements.

Highways winter service: To comprehensively review and revise the criteria used to determine which roads should be treated as part of the Priority One network to better align with current national guidance and reflect changes in travelling and commuting patterns, and to update the routes accordingly.

Homelessness Support Services: To stop funding services that the County Council does not have a legal requirement to provide, that support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs): To provide a sustainable, cost-effective and fit for purpose Household Waste Recycling service within a reduced budget. This might involve introducing charging for discretionary services, implementing alternative delivery models, reducing opening days and/or hours or reducing the number of HWRCs.

Library stock: To reduce how much is spent on new library stock, such as books and digital resources, each year.

Passenger transport: To reduce the amount of money spent on passenger transport by withdrawing all remaining funding that the County Council is not legally required to provide. This includes funding for community transport services (incorporating Dial-a-Ride, Call and Go, Taxi Shares, Group Hire Services, and Wheels to Work), subsidies for bus routes that are not commercially viable, additional funding to extend the Concessionary Travel Scheme (older and disabled persons bus passes) and a review of the potential impact of reductions on the school transport service and social care budgets.

Rural countryside parking: To introduce car parking charges at rural countryside car parks (such as nature reserves and conservation sites) that the County Council manages, where it is expected that doing so would be commercially viable.

School Crossing Patrols: To review the School Crossing Patrols (SCP) service by looking at each SCP site to decide if alternative safety measures exist or could be put in place that would enable the SCP to be safely withdrawn or be funded by other organisations.

Street lighting: To reduce the brightness of streetlights further and to extend the periods that streetlights are switched off during the night (by two hours) – where it is considered safe and appropriate to do so.