APPENDIX 8
BUDGET CONSULTATION
Budget Consultation week took place from 21st to 25th January 2002. A range of
comments have been received from the following sources:No.
Written responses to consultation document
Responses to Salford People article
Attendees at Public Meeting
Written comments following public meeting
Attendees at ethnic group meeting
Comments from youth centres
Responses from headteachers
E-mail responses
Calls to consultation hotline
Total
14
9
22
15
4
212
0
2
2
280
Details of the views expressed have been summarised under the following headings:
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Keeping the city clean and improving its appearance
Improving the health and well-being of Salford’s citizens
Tackling crime
Better roads and public transport
Stemming the loss of population
Facilities for young people
Improving sports facilities and making the most of the Commonwealth Games
Schools
Improving Neighbourhoods
Ethnic Issues
Improving efficiency
Budget consultation process
SUMMARISED BUDGET CONSULTATION RESPONSES
Keeping the city clean and improving its appearance
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Review expenditure on open spaces – sell to developers to create and maintain
walkways
More appropriate use of parks
Spend more on frequent litter collection
Incentive scheme to encourage children not to drop litter
Improve visual presentation of city – use of town wardens to reduce vandalism
Implement fines for dropping litter
Educate children and adults not to drop litter
Increase number of recycling sites
Keep gutters clean for cyclists
Address parking problems to ensure access for street cleaners
Deal with abandoned cars
Are enough resources being put into the anti-graffiti service?
Make streets cleaner in Little Hulton/Walkden
Clean up the streets (3)
Disposal of fridges/older vehicles
Roe Green/Worsley Green have been cut badly
Are we spending enough on Environmental Services - No!
Should we ask businesses to put signs up e.g. "keep it tidy"?
Should we use by-laws to enforce fines?
Has the management of grass cutting been rationalised?
What is the charge for wasps nests?
Environment needs to be put at top of list
Why only weed control in back alleyways? Why not grass verges adjoining roads e.g.
Salford Quays
Ordsall Precinct is a disgrace – grass and bushes are untrimmed, litter is everywhere
Keeping the city clean and improving its appearance
Improving the health and well-being of Salford’s citizens
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Provide more public toilets
Increase opening times at leisure centres
Need to invest more into care for the elderly
Consider the effect on elderly residents of closing EPH’s
Spending priorities should be education/recreation facilities and hospital waiting list
reduction
Priorities should be care of the elderly, education and tackling juvenile vandalism
Continuing provision of services when specific grants end
Provide more money for foster carers
Continue funding for GM Low Pay Unit
Arts and Leisure should link with new satellite health centres
What has caused increase in numbers of children in care?
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What has Salford done to be more competitive in fostering?
Concern about Community Centres closures, etc
What are we doing to map out future population trends?
What about bed blocking?
More assistance for the poor and housebound
Tackling Crime
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Improve street lighting
Spend extra money on tackling crime and vandalism
Focus on making Salford a better place to live. Tackle crime in a focused way
More police in specific areas
More visible policing
Reduce truancy, youth crime
More community wardens in all areas
Increase the scope for more use of CCTV
Internet facilities in libraries – is security built in?
Employing more to combat crime
Stricter laws governing young offenders
Lowering the age of criminal responsibility
Do-gooders excuse young offenders and offer no support to victims
Many residents on the Quays have been burgled, and had cars vandalised and stolen
Harsher sentences for the culprits
Better Roads and Public Transport
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Painting of roads unnecessary
Block paving in areas unnecessary expense
Finish Cadishead By-Pass
Transport infrastructure should be treated as more of a priority
Better public transport needed
Need for more residents parking schemes
Create a black list/penalty clause for cowboy road repairers
Disorganised motorway roadworks time wasting
Roads on Housing estates need improving and adopting
No transport for pupils to travel to Buile Hill and Hope High Schools after the closure
of Windsor High
Pupils to have ID cards for using public transport
Look at other school bus service schemes (ie American style)
More consultation with residents on road/pavement improvements
Review the state of road humps in Patricroft
Why do bus lanes operate for 24 hours when buses do not?
Stop cosmetic jobs on roads
There should be a re-direction of resources into highway/footway maintenance
Buses that go from the estate to key places (e.g. Trafford Centre)
No buses to Trafford Centre from Ordsall
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More bus stops
Tarmac the roads more often
Pavements are poor because of parking by lorries - wardens walk by and book
churchgoers
Could we sell grit/salt?
Cycle tracks need improving
Stemming the loss of population
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Spend more money on marketing Salford
Promote more jobs for Salfordians
Help business’s to attract, train and retain people in work
Promote Salford more
Get rid of parking charges at Eccles/Salford to encourage the public back
Reduce the rents in Eccles to bring the traders back
Tackling crime – be fair and consistent in all areas
Look into who we are renting our housing stock to
Improve the environment, attract investment
Avoid duplication by different agencies
Has a survey been done on why people are leaving Salford? Should we be looking at
bringing Council Tax down?
Facilities for young people
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More money for youth service
Setting up of social clubs
More youth centres (34)
Facilities for disabled children (2)
Youth centres open often (extra hours)(12)
Open youth centres at weekend/holidays (9)
Teams/Clubs for young children
More youth centre staff (19)
Different staff
More activities (i.e. sports, talks etc)(6)
More meeting places
More money for youth centre equipment (10)
Better buildings (3)
Keep children off the streets (2)
Build more under 13’s youth centres
More community centres
Keep careers service in youth centres
More help for children with learning difficulties in youth centres like the one in Eccles
Improve existing facilities (7)
Somewhere to go in the bad weather (10)
More organised trips
Services in youth centre for young people e.g. careers, job shops, health services
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Keep talking to young groups at local youth centre about what they want or need
improving
Cheaper activities to keep young people out of trouble
By listening to what we have to say instead of ignoring our comments
Listen to what young people want more – they should have a say on the council
Young people should have more say in how their services and communities are run
and should have a voice on relevant committees
Involve everyone, make services cheaper so everyone can afford services
Services – give young people a bigger chance to voice their opinion, more facilities
for young people
Provide communities with more money to give the young of the country a chance
More family planning information
Integrate disabled children and able bodied children into schools as early as possible,
so they can cope better
More information on parenting
Younger employment (after school or at weekends)
Feeling that Worsley is neglected – no youth provision
Tackling crime together with improving facilities for young people as this seems to be
the cause of it especially in Cadishead.
Money should be spent on the young people so that they realise they have got a future.
Improving sporting facilities and making the most of the Commonwealth Games
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Find more sponsorship
Don’t let it become a burden on the rate payers
Re-modernise and extend Clarendon Recreation Centre
Introduce more varied evening facilities for young people
Support e-business in Salford, in particular promoting Salford business’s
internationally
Encourage international trade ie business to business events for Salford exporters
Ensure Salford people are aware of what is going on at the Commonwealth Games
Make the City safe for visitors to shops and attractions
Ensure TV/press coverage for all events held in/around Salford
Let out empty properties to visitors
Promote locally with themed events in schools and youth clubs
Don’t charge pensioners
Get youths who commit crimes do voluntary work on improving the empty properties
More investment in Leisure facilities
Is Tourism budget being used in connection with Commonwealth Games?
At a time when the Council is short of resources we still have facilities that are grossly
underused
Swimming tuition – why not make a charge instead of reducing hours?
More recreation centres (5)
More leisure facilities (9)
Cheaper entertainment (2)
Use old Kwik Save site for sports complex
Disco’s
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Gyms
Organised trips
More sporting activities for younger and older people (5)
More things to do as a group
More organised sporting events
More sporting equipment available on parks
Football pitches (3)
Make sports facilities more accessible to disabled people
Better use of parks (8)
Astroturf for football (3)
More/better sports facilities (4)
Sports facilities for elite sports persons (4)
Centres of excellence to make sports more appealing in the Salford area
Sport specific centres purpose built so we can compete at national level include
viewing galleries etc for competitions
More funding for better quality sport coaches
More swimming activities
More bike tracks
Skate park (9)
Cheaper rates for sport activities for young people
Remove the idiots and build more sports facilities for well-behaved kids
Council should be more supportive towards young people and quality homes should
be given to all no matter what age or gender they are
Schools
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Council should provide more funds for sport in school so they can pursue activities
such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s award
Let kids smoke in school like they do in Cheshire
Better sport equipment for schools
Give harder work to schools for better education because people who are smarter than
others have to do easy work
More schools (4)
Better schools
More socialisation between different religions
More after school activities (3)
More carers for disabled children
More school activities should be held in youth centres to let children know they exist
and to keep them off the streets at night
More money spent on better education
More careers advice (4)
More help for children with learning difficulties (3)
Schools should make lessons more fun instead of like being in jail
Treat young people with respect involve them in decision making i.e. better
equipment, teacher selection, healthier school meals, interviews (4)
Teachers that understand what young people are going through
More advice from teachers let them show that they are interested in what we say
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More school helpers
If we spend £116.17m on Education and £84m on schools, what is the difference
spent on? This is a large proportion.
Employing more and better qualified teachers to deal with the appallingly high
number of illiterates and innumerates
Improving Neighbourhoods
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Let Housing Associations regenerate poor areas
Continue/expansion of refurbishment/renewal of Salford’s most deprived areas
Ensure communities back renewal schemes
Hard for Salford firms to get on Council’s approved list for service provision, thus
difficult for local firms to tender for Salford contracts
More government/agency aid needed to re-establish poor areas from social,
employment and education failings
Spend more on staff to vet nuisance residents before allocating properties to them
More money spent on paving improvements
Promote more communal use of schools
Do libraries provide disabled access (Lancastrian Hall hard to access)
More information needed on progress of Langworthy area
Will consultation be undertaken on the rationalisation of community centres?
Delegation of budgets to community committees should be increased
Ethnic Issues
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Budget for asylum seekers seems high in relation to the numbers
Actual numbers of asylum seekers much higher than official numbers
Census of ethnic minorities should be carried out
Access to services for people with language barriers
Access to information for victims of domestic violence
Events should be organised for different cultures
More awareness of ethnic issues required by Council staff – training?
Improve security at Salford Link – CCTV
Improving Efficiency
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Cut down on bureaucracy
Partnership working between Local Government and business’s needs improving
A departmental approach to consultation would allow more focused and effective
process
Authority is becoming a service buyer instead of a provider
If work was carried out regularly on the environment it wouldn’t always be an issue
It would be cheaper for the council to employ their own workforce to do repairs
Salford Council Tax is the highest in Greater Manchester – it is disgusting
Cancel Town Twinning
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Put adequate resources into tackling benefit fraud
Reduce Councillor’s expenses
Open council departments 24/7 to recover arrears and encourage payment
Council employees should work shifts to reduce overtime and improve service
Stop wasteful overtime by council employees
Lancastrian Hall should be used as a theatre
Use CPO’s to buy up empty houses
Stop planting trees and painting roads silly colours
Stop the nonsense about Salford’s postcode – Councillors have better things to do
Cut down on staff numbers, reduce absenteeism, eliminate dual attendance at
meetings
Too many chiefs on big salaries, too much early retirement and compensation
Use Clerk of Works to ensure quality of contractors work
Offer discounts for payers of Council Tax at start of the year in full
Payment cards have improved the service
Is tackling counterfeiting a priority in Salford? Are we spending money wisely?
There is more potential to make savings from purchasing
You should speed your services up (I am on the housing list and also pregnant. I have
been to the Eccles office numerous times explaining I’ve been sleeping on the streets
and I have still not been housed)
Scope for changing libraries and making more accessible
Potential for partnerships in libraries f/t staff and volunteers (per WCA)
What about expensive equipment in libraries and security (of ICT equipment)
especially Boothstown/Worsley/Walkden
Concern about enforcement of planning applications. Is there going to be an
improvement? Concern about the time taken to react
Building control officers excellent - any chance to link to planning enforcement?
Bad debts
Numbers of mobile phones and impact on telephone bills
City of Salford is a service provider - we are still employing 11,000 employees,
should we not consider buying in?
Do we need a press office?
Council Tax Level
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What services would be affected by reducing Council Tax by say 1%, etc?
Did we consider say 1% as inflation increase rather than assume 4.9% is ok?
Do we have a model re % increases?
When does the Council expect to be able to stabilise the level of increases in Council Tax and to
keep the increases at or below the level of inflation.
When will we be able to see the improvements which are being promised.
The claim that government support is less than the amount needed is not accepted - the
government is providing an increased amount of support.
Any data changes affecting the amount of government support should be the subject of
representations to the government and it is not accepted that the government would not be
sympathetic. Clearly any representations made to government have not been made strongly
enough otherwise the government would have increased its support accordingly.
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The government has allocated £2.3bn to the Single Capital Pot and it has made money available
through the NRF. When are we going to see the improvements in Salford.
Budget Consultation Process
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Too much to discuss in the time available
Departmental approach to consultation would be more effective
Interesting informative evening
Interesting meeting dominated by a few people
Figures in consultation document should be compared with previous year
Provide details of how the money is spent by each directorate
Process of consultation and communication is to be commended
Could local issues be passed on to Community Committee Co-ordinators for
investigation?
Proposals are structured on a directorate basis – there are no statements about “youth”
and “crime” that are the real concerns to the public
Can a consultation meeting for members be arranged in relation to the capital budget?
At the members meeting it would be useful if the Lead Member, Support Member and
Chief Officer was present for each service