CHARITIES and campaigners working with some of the most vulnerable people in Swindon say they’re worried by the prospect of  more severe cuts to the council budget.

While Swindon Borough Council has passed a budget of £142m for the next financial year beginning in April, its medium term financial strategy has been updated to the end of March  2024.

And it says, between 2020 and 2024 more than £48m will need to be saved.

The plan says the council will need to save £15.1m in 2020-21, another £12m the year after, then £11.5m in 2022-23 and £9.5m in 2023-24.

The two major increases in cost are rises of £6m every year in pay and inflation and more than £6m extra spent every year on packages for vulnerable and elderly adults needing social care.

The loss of grants from central government for children’s social care worth £1.5m and the ending of a grant of surplus business rate levy will also hurt.

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There has been no indication about where savings might eventually be made, but 80 per cent of the council’s budget is spent on adults’ social care and children’s social services combined The founder of charity Swindon Homeless Volunteers, Louise Morecambe said: “Cuts could really hurt the most vulnerable people in our society.

“If this amount of money needs to be saved I think the council should concentrate it on where it’s really needed and spend less on things like sculptures and things like that.”

Helen Fisher at Smash youth project – which works with teenagers in Penhill said the council needed to talk and work with groups like hers to make sure people weren’t disadvantaged: “Change is inevitable but shouldn’t be done in isolation.

“If we are to succeed, we need to work together - council, community, third sector and social enterprise to ensure we convene around the challenges not the problems.”

But the Conservative council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, Russell Holland  felt that it was an achievable target.

He said: “Central government has done the right thing in getting the public finances in order.

“This is challenging, but it can be done, because we have a strong long-term economic plan.

We have initiatives such as digitisation of as many council services as possible, which makes things more convenient for users, but also saves money.

“We have a commercialisation programme which is bringing in nearly £1m a year.

“Swindon’s economy remains strong and we will be able to make these savings.”

Examples of increasing commercialisation include the Kimmerfields development - where the borough council will buy Zurich’s planned new headquarters and rent it back to the company -and the council’s wholly-owned private housing company which was set up to build houses for sale on the open market.

Leader of the Labour group at Euclid Street Jim Grant, said: “Despite Theresa May’s protestations, Conservative austerity is still in full flow and it is local taxpayers that are picking up the tab with above inflation council tax increases and declining services.

It is clear the Conservatives are ideologically wedded to reducing the state and keeping taxes low for the wealthiest in the country.

In Swindon this has led to drastic council tax rises over the last three years, more children going into caret and the elderly being left more isolated with only limited amounts of care.

He added: “Only by a change in government will we see an end to austerity.”