Reading Council braces for further £10.5m cuts

Reading Borough Council is to approve an additional £10.5 million in efficiency savings in a bid to fill a £42 million funding gap.

The council’s policy committee is due to meet to agree the package of measures which are based around cost savings and plans to increase potential revenue streams.

The proposals include opening up public buildings to weddings and civil ceremonies, opening up council-owned car parks for public use and also selling off assets, which are currently in storage.

Other policies include identifying savings in children’s services commissioning, sharing public health duties with neighbouring local authorities, further cuts to care packages and reductions in the council tax support scheme.

The council has already closed swimming pools, cut library hours, introduced charging for green waste bins and cut funding to the voluntary sector as part of its overall spend since 2011.

Councillor Jo Lovelock, leader of the council, said: “The scale of government cuts this council faces is unprecedented. I would ask residents to think about the effect a 40 per cent cut in wages would have on their household income.

“The average national wage is around the £27,500 mark. If you cut that figure by 40 per cent, your monthly wage packet falls from £2,290 to just £1,458. Add to that the rising cost of living - including food and energy bills - and any family would struggle to make ends meet.

“That is the reality of the size of the challenge the council faces. The 40 per cent figure does not even take into account the substantial additional costs of the rising demands on key council services.”