Draft budget 2023/24

Consultation open for comments from 12 December 2022, 9am to 10 January 2023, 12 noon.

How much does the City Council currently spend, and where does the funding for this come from?

Cambridge City Council is keen to understand residents' and businesses’ views on the services it provides and on proposals we have published to help set our budget for the next financial year (2023/24). 

At present we spend about £110 million a year to deliver services in Cambridge. This is paid for mainly from the income we generate from rent, fees and charges for services, and Government grants.  

Our net spend (that portion of our total spend not covered by those sources of income but by the funding we receive from a share of local business rates and Council Tax) is around £20m per year. 

The need to reduce our net spend in the coming years

The City Council needs to reduce its net spending by around £3.8 million (approximately 20%) in the next financial year (2023/24) – the proposals in the draft budget seek to contribute to that. 

We expect that our annual net spending will need to be around £11.5 million (nearly 60%) less in five years’ time than it is now, in order for the council to be financially sustainable. This takes into account inflation, legislative changes, the increasing costs of serving a growing population and the impact of a significantly reducing Government grant).

This reduction in net spend in the coming years is in addition to the £11 million (gross) that the City Council has already saved over the past five years. 

What are we doing to balance our budget and improve the way we work with partners to deliver better services?

The council has embarked on a transformation programme called “Our Cambridge”. Through this programme we are looking at how we can build on the new ways of working and relationships we have made during the Covid pandemic, so that we can deliver a better future for our communities and local businesses.

We are also looking at changing how we do things within the Council, so that we can maximise the value of everything we do and achieve operational efficiencies, improvements, savings and generate additional income. 

Have your say

The survey has now closed.

Thank you to everyone that participated.

What happens next?

Your responses to this questionnaire will be summarised and reported to councillors in January 2023. Your responses will inform the City Council's thinking on its budget choices and service priorities.  

The draft budget will be discussed at the City Council’s Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee meeting on 30 January 2023.  

The draft budget will then be discussed at a meeting of The Executive on 9 February 2023 and a decision will be debated and decided on at the Council meeting on 23 February 2023.

We will communicate what has been decided after that meeting via the Council's website.