We spend £1.5 billion a year providing services that Hertfordshire’s 1.2 million residents value and rely on from their earliest years to the later stages of life including social services for children and adults, roads and libraries.
We are also building for the future by investing £349 million in our county’s assets and infrastructure, delivering extra special school places, new children’s residential homes and nursing facilities through our capital programme this financial year. £87m of this capital spending will fund highways projects.
Most of our budget is spent on services we are required to deliver by law, with 67% of the total on social care services for adults and children alone. The combination of growing demand for these and other services, inflation driven by global conflicts, and significant reductions in government funding means our financial position is increasingly challenging.
Like all councils, Hertfordshire County Council needs to agree a balanced budget every year. This means the amount we spend on services can’t be more than the money we have available.
Our focus is on continuing to innovate, modernise and improve our services to deliver more while spending less. This year we’re working to save £58.5m and we have lowered our costs by over £500 million since 2010. However, we need to be open to doing things differently and in some cases making difficult choices around our priorities even if we were to increase Council Tax by 4.99% as we’ve had to do in previous years.
We're determined to set a budget for the next year which continues to deliver good outcomes for residents and the priorities set out in our corporate plan in an affordable way. Our services touch the lives of every Hertfordshire resident, business and community so your feedback is vital.