Gloucestershire County Council's Cabinet met on 4 December 2024 and made a series of decisions about the running of the county. They agreed a budget for consultation, amended a motion on civic pride, approved new policies relating to digital services and adult social care contributions, and made changes to the way that waste and fire services operate.

Budget 2025/26

The Cabinet approved a draft budget for 2025-2026 for public consultation. The headline figure is a proposed 4.99% increase in council tax, which equates to an increase of £79.83 per year, or £1.54 a week for a Band D property.

Presenting the budget, Councillor Lynden Stowe explained that the increase was necessary because of a combination of factors, including inflation, growing demand for council services, and a reduction in central government funding.

The most significant increase was in the adult social care budget. Cllr Stowe said this was needed to meet the growing demand for adult social care services, which is being driven by an ageing population and an increase in the number of people with complex needs.

The total Revenue budget had increased from £616.871 million in 2024/25, to a proposed £649.589 million for 2025/26. This was a net increase of £32.718m, made up of £53.032m of investments offset by £14.125m of budget reductions (inc. removal of 2024/25 one-off growth, additional income, savings, and efficiencies) and £6.189m use of reserves.

- Councillor Lynden Stowe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property. (Source)

The budget also included a number of investments in key services, including children's services, education, and highways.

The consultation on the budget was open for 5 weeks from 5 December 2024 to 10 January 2025.

Fire Service Changes

The Cabinet approved controversial plans to implement a new day staff duty system at Cinderford Fire Station and make changes to the wholetime firefighter shift pattern in the county.

Presenting the plans, Councillor Dave Norman said that Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service needed to make the changes in order to:

• Improve its response to emergencies, particularly in rural areas.
• Increase its capacity to carry out prevention work.
• Make the best use of its resources.

The plans included:

• Introducing a new day shift staffing model at Cinderford Fire Station.
• Changing the wholetime firefighter shift pattern from 9-hour days and 15-hour nights to 11-hour days and 13-hour nights.

Cllr Norman acknowledged that the proposals would result in 14 new full-time posts at Cinderford Fire Station, but insisted that the changes to the shift system would deliver significant savings.

These had been given due regard, but Cabinet remained of the view that the risks were outweighed by the benefits of implementing the proposed changes. The points raised through the correspondence, particularly in relation to the possible impact on those with caring responsibilities or who were managing mental health issues were articulated within the Equality Impact Assessments.

- Councillor Dave Norman, Cabinet Member for Fire, Community Safety and Libraries. (Source)

The changes to the shift system proved to be particularly controversial, with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) arguing that they would lead to longer working hours, increased fatigue, and a reduction in the quality of service. The FBU's concerns were echoed by a number of councillors, who argued that the changes would put the safety of firefighters and the public at risk.

Despite the opposition, the Cabinet voted to approve the changes, which will be implemented in 2025-26.

Civic Pride

Cabinet considered a motion on Civic Pride referred from a meeting of the full council. The motion, proposed by Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, called on the Cabinet to set new and high standards of civic pride in Gloucestershire, noting that road signs are often looking tatty and unreadable, and that grass verges and footways are overgrown across the county.

Cllr Hodgkinson, speaking at the Cabinet meeting, called for the establishment of a roaming team to concentrate on repairing, cleaning and ensuring road signs are visible from the road.

The leader of the council, Councillor Stephen Davies proposed an amendment to the motion, which was passed. The amended motion:

• noted that across the county, road signs are often looking tatty and unreadable and grassverges and footways are overgrown
• noted that cost cutting County Council repairs has made our town centres and villages look neglected, with our high streets covered in messy looking repairs
• noted that abandoned contractor signage is often left for weeks after work is completed
• stated that Gloucestershire is a beautiful county
• stated that residents are expected to keep their communities clean and attractive, and that the County Council has the same aims.
• stated that the squeeze on council budgets by central government has led to civic pride projects being axed over the past 10 years
• stated that County, district, town and parish councils being under financial pressure has led to the challenges with civic pride projects”
• stated that improving the appearance of a community can improve the morale of residents, attract tourists, improve the economy and give people a sense of pride in their local area.

The amended motion resolved that the council would:

• Set new and high standards of civic pride in everything that Highways does, making sure that Gloucestershire is made cleaner
• Investigate the potential for a regular county competition to identify the cleanest street, park and playground in Gloucestershire.

Adult Social Care Contributions

The Cabinet approved a new Adult Social Care Fairer Contributions Policy, which sets out how the council charges people for their care and support. The new policy follows a public consultation and was presented to the meeting by Councillor Carole Allaway-Martin.

In January 2024, following an extensive pre-consultation review, the Cabinet agreed to a consultation to ask the public’s opinion on illustrations for change with the aim to create a policy explaining how people are charged for their care and support needs which is sustainable, clear, accessible, and fair, to support individuals with choice and control over their care.

-Councillor Carole Allaway-Martin, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care (Source)

The new policy includes a number of changes from the previous policy, including:

• An increase in the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) for all people with care and support needs in Gloucestershire from £187 to £192.
• The disregard of the difference between higher rate and standard rate Personal Independence Payments when assessing how much someone with care and support needs should pay towards their care.
• The inclusion of a provision for an administration fee for people with care and support needs who ask the council to arrange at home care and support services if their capital is over the upper capital threshold as defined in the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014.

The council anticipated that the changes would reduce chargeable income by around £3.72 million in the first year.

Digital Strategy

Cabinet approved a new digital strategy, which sets out how the council will use technology to improve services for residents and businesses. The strategy was presented to the meeting by Councillor Stephan Fifield, who explained that it was about:

leveraging the digital capabilities to enhance performance, create efficiencies, and improve services for residents and local businesses. The strategy aimed to address the evolving needs of staff, communities, and businesses by modernising infrastructure, adopting new technologies, and fostering a culture of data and innovation.

-Councillor Stephan Fifield, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transformation and Change (Source)

The strategy includes a number of commitments, including:

• Making it easier for residents to access council services online.
• Using data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of council services.
• Working with partners to develop innovative digital solutions to local challenges.
• Ensuring that all residents have access to the digital skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Waste Services

The cabinet approved plans to award new contracts for the bulking and haulage of residual waste collected by Cheltenham Borough Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Forest of Dean District Council and Cotswold District Council

Presenting the motion Councillor David Gray said:

Due to the geographical size and spread of the county, the council utilised a network of ‘satellite’ Waste Transfer Stations for the bulking and onward haulage of waste to Javelin Park EfW facility outside Gloucester. This long standing arrangement ensured that waste haulage was undertaken in the most effective way in order to maximise load efficiencies and minimise journey numbers, emissions, driver hours and overall costs.

- Councillor David Gray, Cabinet Member for Environment, Economy and Planning (Source)

The Cabinet voted to approve a procurement strategy for awarding the contracts, which would be divided into three geographical lots.