This Hampshire County Council consultation is highly important due to my concerns for disabled people and the very high numbers of veterans locally.
These proposed HCC cuts will impact on local people, often those with disabilities and other challenges. You may already be aware of this consultation but, if not, might care to share this as widely as possible, noting the end March closing date. I’m not sure when the consultation was originally made public but if the time and circulation of information is too tight, it risks being as unlawful as that for the recent “ticket office closures”.
Hampshire County Council is asking for people’s views on the future of some local services in a public consultation on options to help the Authority meet a £132 million budget shortfall by April 2025.
Within the consultation are 13 service change proposals, that Equality Impact Assessments, informed by residents’ and stakeholders’ views, have identified as having a significant public impact. Hampshire County Council are seeking to understand these impacts in more detail, to consult on potential options and to clarify whether there may be other ways in which the savings could be made.
The consultation is live and closes at 11.59pm on 31st March 2024.
The 13 service change proposals are:
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
Adult social care grant schemes: To withdraw 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
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.
Hampshire Cultural Trust grant: To reduce the amount of grant given to Hampshire Cultural Trust to manage and deliver arts and museums services.
Highways maintenance: To reduce planned highways maintenance activities, incorporating larger-scale structural repairs, surface treatments on roads, and drainage improvements.
Highways winter service: To comprehensively review and revise the criteria used to determine which roads should be treated as part of our Priority One network to better align with current national guidance and reflect changes in travelling and commuting patterns, and to update the routes accordingly.
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.
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.
Library stock: To reduce how much is spent on new library stock, such as books and digital resources, each year.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The full consultation can be found online at: https://www.hants.gov.uk/aboutthecouncil/haveyoursay/consultations/future-services-consultation.
If you require a paper copy of the Information Packs or the Response Form, a copy in another language or format (such as audio, large print, or Braille), or if you have any queries about the consultation, please contact:
By email to: insight@hants.gov.uk,
Or call: 0300 555 1375.
You may also respond to the consultation online, or by email or letter.
The contact details are:
Email: insight@hants.gov.uk
Or write to: Freepost HAMPSHIRE (Please also write PandO, IEU, FM09 on the back of the envelope).
Please share as widely as possible so that everyone has the chance to have their say. And, if you are interested, I’ve nearly recovered from falling down the stairs 6 months ago and am back on the speaking circuit!