Buckinghamshire Council is preparing its spending plans for 2024 to 2025 and is asking residents, businesses and other local stakeholders to give their views on which services should be prioritised.

The consultation period will close at midnight on Sunday 15 October 2023, so this is your final opportunity to have your say on how your council tax is spent.

The council is committed to ensuring that their budget for the next financial year is allocated in a way that meets the needs of the community – including funding for essential services such as education, social care and waste management.

There have already been a significant number of responses to the consultation from across Buckinghamshire, but it's not too late to give your views. You can provide feedback on the proposed spending plan by visiting the council's website and filling out theonline survey.

Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, said:

“Budget setting in recent times has become extremely difficult. While we are seeing some more stability and a slowing of inflation, we have also seen very significant rises in social care costs, with many more people coming through the door needing our help. It means we’re already spending more than we budgeted for this year on services like social care and temporary accommodation, and if this trend continues, it puts even more pressure on our overall budgets.

“I have to level with people and explain that we will have to take some really tough decisions to balance our books. We know residents have been experiencing ongoing cost of living pressures, so we face very difficult choices on how we provide some services going forward.

“All this means it is crucial that we build up a clear picture of what residents, businesses and local stakeholders want us to do.

“With the Money Matters survey, we’ve made it as quick and easy as possible for you to give us your views – it really will be ten minutes well spent if you can take part. Your views will then be fed into our final budget proposals which will be heavily scrutinised just after Christmas in a series of special meetings. The final budget is then voted on during February, ready to ‘go live’ on 1 April 2024.”

You can find more information about Money Matters and have your say by visiting Buckinghamshire Council'sMoney Matters webpage.