{"id":880,"date":"2025-11-06T15:31:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/?p=880"},"modified":"2026-05-16T15:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:32:04","slug":"residents-and-businesses-urged-to-help-shape-ecc-budget-26-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/?p=880","title":{"rendered":"Residents and businesses urged to help shape ECC -Budget 26\/27"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Residents and businesses are being encouraged to share their views on the priorities for Essex County Council\u2019s 2026\/27 budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next year, the council will spend over \u00a32 billion. This will include funding for essential services and investment in our county\u2019s infrastructure and future growth. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The council is asking for views on the key issues facing Essex. Responses to the consultation will help shape services and plan for the future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/survey.euro.confirmit.com\/wix\/9\/p526440153019.aspx?ebrm=1\">budget consultation survey<\/a>&nbsp;can be completed online and closes on Monday 15 December.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across the country, households and businesses are feeling financial pressures. Alongside this, the financial outlook for Essex County Council, and for local authorities in general, is highly uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the council has a strong track record of financial management, securing \u00a3192 million in savings over the past five years, it is not immune from financial pressures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These financial pressures are increasing because:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>there are increasingly complex demands on our services as well as more people needing our support each year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the costs of providing services have increased \u2013 partly due to inflation, and partly as a result of changes in the law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The council faces the impacts of the economic climate such as high inflation and high interest rates, as well as the cost-of-living situation, while waiting for the outcome of the government&#8217;s Fair Funding review, and a multi-year funding settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey asks residents and businesses their thoughts on:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the big issues we face and the challenges that lie ahead for Essex.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the things that concern you and your family<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>where we should focus resources as we work to improve lives across our county<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Councillor Chris Whitbread, the Chancellor of Essex, said: \u201cWhile there is no doubt we are facing budget pressures, I am pleased to say that Essex County Council remains in a strong and stable place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that local government finances are under pressure nationwide. But here in Essex, our careful planning and disciplined approach are paying off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHowever, we must continue to look to do things differently and build upon our strong record of financial management to continue to secure better value for money for Essex taxpayers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want residents and businesses to help us shape how we respond to the pressures we are facing, and I would urge them to take part in our consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently Greater Essex is also in the process of establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA). This will result in a directly elected Mayor from May 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Mayor will pick up some responsibilities from Essex County Council. Any related feedback from the survey will be used in planning for the MCCA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take part in the consultation at:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/consultations.essex.gov.uk\/rci\/ecc-budget-consultation-2026-27\/\">https:\/\/consultations.essex.gov.uk\/rci\/ecc-budget-consultation-2026-27\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Cllr Peter Schwier&nbsp; ISEP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction &amp; Recycling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chair, East of England Regional Climate Change Forum<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents and businesses are being encouraged to share their views on the priorities for Essex County Council\u2019s 2026\/27 budget. Next year, the council will spend over \u00a32 billion. This will include funding for essential services and investment in our county\u2019s infrastructure and future growth. &nbsp; The council is asking for views on the key issues [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":881,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions\/881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppesfield-pc.gov.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}