16 December 2010
The following statement is made in response to the announcement this week about the grant settlement for local government.
The statement is made by the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Financial Services, Councillor Gill Mattock, “We have been anticipating the announcement this week for some time and factored a reduced settlement into our overall financial planning. I am pleased to report that we will only need to manage a 0.6% variance in the budget for 2011/12, meaning that we will be able to bring it back into balance without the need to use reserves for ongoing expenditure. The council suffered the second largest fall in grant in East Sussex and an average drop would have meant no further action as plans are already in place. Most importantly for local residents, there will be zero impact on frontline services. These are tough times, but I’m delighted the rigour we have placed on preparing the council budget is paying dividends for local people.”
