A huge push to get the public of Milton Keynes engaged in the world of local government finance has failed to ignite much of a response.
A budget consultation exercise ran from December 6, last year, to January 31, with local people invited to comment on proposals by email, post, social media and a city centre ‘roadshow’.
Councillors at tonight’s (Tuesday, February 5) meeting of Milton Keynes Council’s ruling Cabinet have been told: “The budget consultation documents have been viewed 1,719 times, and two responses have been received to date (January 21).”
The two responses came from a residential care provider who wants to put up their charges to pay for rising costs, and a residents’ organisation in MK who have called for an end to private sector contracts.
The care provider wrote: “During 2019, the National Living Wage is set to rise from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour. Pension employer minimum contribution is set to rise from 2 per cent to 3 per cent. This creates a 5.9 per cent cost increase.
“The residents being referred (to us) are increasingly in need of additional support and as such the number of staff required will also increase. As a smaller provider with more ageing facilities we are required to make a significant investment to improve and maintain facilities.”
The second response came from the Residents of Regeneration Estates (RoRE) in support of the council’s planned spending of £165 million on its housing estate. But they’ve asked for flexibility, especially within the Planned Maintenance Programme. RoRE wants any underspends to be kept in the programme and not returned to reserves.
They also want the council to create an in-house organisation instead of contracting out to private organisations, to ensure that “many local small companies and trades people can benefit.”
Councillors will be told if there have been any more responses from a budget roadshow held on January 24.
