The Labour Council have worked tirelessly since we took control in 2023 to stabilise the Council and get it back on an even keel. We have transformed the senior leadership team, worked hard to raise morale, and worked to deliver a credible medium term financial strategy. We inherited a situation where the Conservatives have racked up over £400m of debt and were extensively using reserves to balance the books. We have worked closely with the new government and utilised EFS (Extraordinary Financial Support) this year to give us the space and time to invest in our Council Transformation plan to make sure we can deliver a sustainable Council going forward. EFS allows us to use Capital Receipts to fund the transformation and keep essential services running whilst we change our wider operating model to a new sustainable plan. We could have slashed services to cover the gap this year, but losing staff and removing essential support to residents would not have helped us deliver the Swindon Plan and the Better Swindon we have been working on with residents.
Jan Update – The Government have increased our funding via the Local Government Settlement and brought forward a three-year funding settlement, and we are working to deliver a balanced budget that allows us to deliver our ambitions for the town as well as manage our scarce resources.