The report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) was to follow and is now enclosed.

The report of the Strategic Director explained how the budget proposals for the Directorate had been developed and subjected to analysis by Scrutiny Committees over the previous few months. Possible budget saving proposals had been put forward in November and refined and modified in response to the views of councillors and other stakeholders. The Neighbourhoods Directorate had identified savings of £7.376m which would require a staffing reduction of 2 FTE. Due to the lead in time involved in some of the changes that £7.376m would be phased over the period 2021/22- 2024/25, with an initial £6.683m being delivered in 2021/22. Each of the proposed savings was described in the report and a schedule of all the savings was appended to the report. Other changes and investments needed were also set out in the report. Taken together, the budget proposals were:

One of the proposals in the budget report was to avoid £110,000 of future costs by withdrawing the operating subsidy to the Wythenshawe Indoor Market. It was proposed that the indoor market be closed, and that support be offered to the traders to access alternative sites in the outdoor market or elsewhere within the City. The meeting was addressed by Councillor Newman, a Woodhouse Park Ward councillor, who spoke against this proposed saving. Councillor Newman explained the importance of the indoor market as an iconic feature of the town’s centre. Closure of the market at the end of March 2021 would be a blow to the morale of the members of the local community who, like many others in the city, have suffered many hardships and difficulties throughout the pandemic. He asked if the Executive would consider continuing the subsidy for a further six months to allow time for the local councillors and the council’s staff to work with the traders and the Wythenshawe Town Centre managers to develop a plan to ensure the financial sustainability of the market.

In response to this the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer explained that the Government had recently announced that the Council was to receive a further £50,000 of New Burdens funding that had not been anticipated, and the application of that money would release the funds from elsewhere to allow the market subsidy to continue for six months. The Executive was therefore happy to support Councillor Newman’s request and to recommend the appropriate adjustment be made to the Neighbourhoods Directorate budget.

It was noted that the Directorate Budget had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee (Minute CESC/21/08), and also at a meeting of the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee (Minute NESC/21/09). The views of each committee were noted.

Decision

To approve the Directorate budget proposals as set out in the report, amended to include the addition of the funds to allow the Wythenshawe Indoor Market subsidy to continue until the end of September 2021.