Hampshire County Council is running a consultation on the future of its services as it seeks to bridge an expected £132 million deficit in 2025.
You can take part in the consultation here
It proposes reductions to a range of services including the option to remove some East Hampshire’s tips, fewer road repairs and limiting some social support such as grants and homelessness services.
Our response to the consultation acknowledges the difficult financial position Hampshire County Council is in, particularly as public sector finances are currently under extreme pressure following a decade of drops in national government funding.
However, we are concerned that cutting back on important support services will have a knock-on effect on other care services.
Plans to cut back Adult Care Social Grants, Homelessness Support Services and public transport may save HCC money in the short term but in the long run will create a greater burden on the care system, increasing demand for the NHS, Hampshire County Council and EHDC.
You can read our full response here
Hampshire County Council's proposals
Adult social care charges: Proposals to change the way contributions towards non-residential social care costs are calculated, so that the amount someone pays towards their non-residential care and support increases from 95% to 100% of any assessable income remaining once standard outgoings are paid for and an allowance is made for general living costs such as food, utility bills and clothing. (Proposed cost saving - £500,000)
Adult social care grant schemes: To withdraw all funding for three Adult Social Care grant programmes that assist voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations in Hampshire, namely the Council for Voluntary Services Infrastructure Grant, the Citizens Advice Infrastructure Grant and the Local Solutions Grant. (Proposed cost saving - £620,000)
Competitive (one-off) grant schemes: To withdraw three competitive grant schemes which provide one-off grants to a range of community groups and organisations; namely the Leader’s Community Grants, the Rural Communities Fund (including country shows) and the Parish and Town Council Investment Fund. (Proposed cost saving - £481,000)
Hampshire Cultural Trust grant: To reduce the amount of grant given to Hampshire Cultural Trust to manage and deliver arts and museums services. Currently the grant is £2,500,000. (Proposed cost saving - £600,000)
Highways maintenance: To reduce planned highways maintenance activities, incorporating larger-scale structural repairs, surface treatments on roads, and drainage improvements. The majority of this work is funded by Department for Transport, the County Council top up the budget with £10,000,000. (Proposed cost saving - £7,500,000)
Highways winter service: To comprehensively review and revise the criteria used to determine which roads should be treated as part of the Priority One network to better align with current national guidance and reflect changes in travelling and commuting patterns, and to update the routes accordingly. HCC spend approximately £6.5 million each year to keep the highway network clear of snow and ice during the winter. (Proposed cost saving - £1,000,000)
Homelessness Support Services: To stop funding services that the County Council does not have a legal requirement to provide, that support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. In total, HCC provide around £2,000,000 of support each year for Homelessness Support Services. (Proposed cost saving - £2,000,000)
Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs): To provide a sustainable, cost-effective and fit for purpose Household Waste Recycling service within a reduced budget. This might involve introducing charging for discretionary services, implementing alternative delivery models, reducing opening days and/or hours or reducing the number of HWRCs. The service in Hampshire costs more than £10 million a year to operate. (Proposed cost saving - £1,200,000)
Library stock: To reduce how much is spent on new library stock, such as books and digital resources, each year. The cost of running the service in Hampshire is £12.6 million, with £9.9 million coming from core funding and £2.7 million income from additional library services.(Proposed cost saving - £200,000)
Passenger transport: To reduce the amount of money spent on passenger transport by withdrawing all remaining funding that the County Council is not legally required to provide. This includes funding for community transport services (incorporating Dial-a-Ride, Call and Go, Taxi Shares, Group Hire Services, and Wheels to Work), subsidies for bus routes that are not commercially viable, additional funding to extend the Concessionary Travel Scheme (older and disabled persons bus passes) and a review of the potential impact of reductions on the school transport service and social care budgets. The County Council currently spends around £2.7 million per year through passenger transport budgets directly supporting community transport and local bus services. (Proposed cost saving - £1,700,000)
Rural countryside parking: To introduce car parking charges at rural countryside car parks (such as nature reserves and conservation sites) that the County Council manages, where it is expected that doing so would be commercially viable. HCC are proposing to introduce car parking charges at the rural countryside car parks. It is anticipated this would raise around £65,000 each year.
School Crossing Patrols: To review the School Crossing Patrols (SCP) service by looking at each SCP site to decide if alternative safety measures exist or could be put in place that would enable the SCP to be safely withdrawn or be funded by other organisations. (Proposed cost saving - £1,100,000)
Street lighting: To reduce the brightness of streetlights further and to extend the periods that streetlights are switched off during the night (by 2 hours) – where it is considered safe and appropriate to do so. Currently, energy for street lighting costs the County Council approximately £4.2 million per year. (Proposed cost saving - £500,000)