South Ribble Association Councillors are pleased to support a reduction in council tax at county level for the first time in over 30 years to reduce the financial burden to its residents.
This comes following Lancashire County Council's announcement to cut council tax by 2%, while agreeing a new programme of investments including funding for 48 new Police and Community Support Officers.
The plans, which include creating a new £5m centre of excellence to care for people with dementia and a £3.3m programme to retrain people who have lost their jobs, form part of the 2013-14 budget agreed at a meeting of the full council at County Hall in Preston.
The budget also accounts for the final year of a three-year savings programme, over the course of which the council will have spent £215m less on management and administration.
The £15m investment programme comes in addition to £50m of new investment announced by the county council in its last budget. The new spending will include:
•£5m on a new-build centre of excellence for dementia care, for people throughout the county in need of specialist care, and a further £250,000 programme to train county council employees in proving care for people with dementia
•£3.7m to fund 48 new Police and Community Support Officers (PCSOs), four of whom will be allocated to each of Lancashire's 12 districts
•£3.3m for a training and support programme to help people who have been made redundant get back into work
•£1m to create four 'changing places' toilets for people with disabilities in major centres across Lancashire
•£1m for young people's services, including a new fleet of mobile youth centres.
For the full story, including quotes from LCC leader Jeff Driver, please click HERE