Details are emerging this evening of the Council’s budget plans for  2016/17.

Council Tax will increase by 3%, of which 2% will be ring-fenced to help with social care costs.

Council house rents will be reduced by 1% (in line with central government instructions). This will mean cuts in repairs budgets, although the housing account is showing a £20 million accumulated surplus.

The Council is to spend £234,000 more to fund “additional Community Safety Hub officers” to cover additional enforcement around dog fouling, street drinking, licensing infringement and noise enforcement plus ” a reactive service for street services to deal with fly-tipping, graffiti, litter and weeds” which would be a welcome step forward.

Another welcome improvement will be an investment of an additional £100,000 to help tackle mental health issues, while the completion of the Local Plan will cost another £350,000 and an update of the strategic flood risk assessment will cost £60,000.

An extra £74,000 will be used to increase Councillors pay.

Some of the more eye-catching cuts include:

• £350,000 cut in bus subsidies. Number 20 service to be scrapped.
• £1.1 million cut in adult social care provision
• £1.3 million cut in education support (schools are funded directly by the government)
• Reductions in public garden and tree maintenance
• Handing over allotment management to  users
• Theatre Royal (revenue) grants scrapped.
• Less on Public Health (drugs, alcohol, smoking, dentistry and sexual health)
• Fewer health checks

Many residents will be looking at the Council capital investment plans to see whether the excesses of the last administration – which doubled the debt per head of population figure in the City – have been reversed.