£2.3 million funding boost for city services
An extra £2.3 million has been allocated to important services in the city after we managed an underspend at the end of last financial year.
The council’s cabinet approved the reallocation of the £2.3 million underspend when councillors met to discuss proposals at Brighton Town Hall last week (Thursday 27 June).
Areas which will now receive a welcome increase in funding include:
- £300,000 for the Fairness Fund, which supports residents most-impacted by the national cost of living crisis – doubling our existing contribution.
- £100,000 to help our efforts tackling graffiti and tagging throughout the city.
- £50,000 towards a tree planting programme focusing on areas which currently lack trees or experience poor air quality.
- Extra funding for repairing potholes and roads, with a specific focus on improving access to parks, allotments and cemeteries.
- £50,000 for work removing basal suckers and side shoots from on-street trees, which if left unchecked, can damage pavements.
- A £185,000 investment in our priority services.
- Funding for a series of community engagement events in areas of the city which experience deprivation.
Cabinet also agreed £1 million of the available funding created by the underspend would be held as a contingency to help address the many pressures facing our finances, including a large savings requirement resulting from increased demand for services and higher levels of inflation.
Decision was made at first cabinet meeting
The meeting was the first cabinet meeting since the council changed to the new model from its previous committee system.
Other items discussed included a strategy on preventing and tackling violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence, proposals for a cycle lane on the A259 and the future of Homewood College.
As part our commitment to openness and transparency, a forward plan is now published 28 days before a cabinet meeting, giving residents, opposition councillors, charities, local community groups and organisations advanced warning of important council business.
Second cabinet meeting later this month
The next cabinet meeting will take place on Thursday 18 July at Hove Town Hall.
A list of items scheduled for discussion is already available on our website: Second instalment of Forward Plan published (brighton-hove.gov.uk)