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  • Lead Member Oldham Council
  • Year 2014-2015
  • Categories Finance

Principles met

  • New models of meeting priority needs

    In exploring new ways of meeting the priority needs of our communities we will encourage models, such as co-operatives and mutuals, which give greater influence and voice to staff and users. in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.

  • Walking the talk

    As a membership organisation, we will make this statement of our principles operational by: • Co-operation among members: Our members work together to help each other implement our values, sharing experiences and learning. • Openness of membership: Full, Associate and Affiliate Membership is open to any qualifying Council, organisation or individual who shares our values and is committed to putting them into action. • Co-production of the Network’s work: Members help shape the Network’s work programme and the content of events and written products. • Action-focused: The network is a vehicle for helping councils translate co-operative values and principles into policy and practice. •Membership-based: The network is majority funded by modest membership subscriptions from its member Councils, Associates and Affiliates. •Non-party-political: Members share the belief that working co-operatively within and across communities holds the key to tackling today’s challenges.

Councils across the UK have faced substantial cuts to their funding since 2010, and this is set to continue against a backdrop of rising demand for services. Several co-operative councils have launched campaigns to encourage citizens to help them make decisions about how council money should be invested, where the savings might be and what local priorities should be.

Oldham – Let’s Talk Budget

Oldham Council’s ‘Let’s talk budget’ initiative has set a £60 million challenge to local residents. Since 2009, Oldham Council has had to cut £141m out of its budget. It now has to cut a further £60m by 2017. The £60 million challenge is asking local residents, businesses, organisations and community and voluntary groups how they can all play their part in meeting this challenge and build a co-operative borough.

Oldham Budget Challenge

Edinburgh’s Budget Challenge

Edinburgh Council has developed an online budget planning tool to enable local residents to have their say on how they would use and prioritise the council budget.

The Council faces a budget challenge which affects how much money it has to invest in services in the coming years. Between 2015 and 2018, the Council’s annual budget will remain around £950 million. However the cost of providing services is expected to be £1.01 billion. It needs to save £67 million from its budget, over the next three years, to make sure it can provide the services that are important to the people of Edinburgh.

Edinburghs Budget Challenge

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