Residents have until Monday (December 2) to let Cambridgeshire County Council know where it should be spending or saving taxpayers money.  

As one of the country’s fastest growing counties, the feedback will be used to help shape the council’s longer-term budget.    

This specific survey - called the Business Plan and Budget 2025-26 Engagement Survey - is the first of two public engagement opportunities that will contribute towards the council’s next five-year Business Plan. 

A Supporting Document supporting the questionnaire outlines the current needs for Cambridgeshire communities. 

It was largely shaped by the council’s 2024 Quality of Life Survey which over 5,500 residents completed.   

However it also paints a stark picture of the council’s current demands, and how its financial demands in some areas have changed dramatically in the previous five years.  

For example, between 2019 and 2025, a spokesperson said the budget for providing services to residents with autism increased by 298 per cent. It went from just under £1.05m in 2019/20 to just over £4.16m.  

During the same period, the council says its budget for providing services to older people rose by 64 per cent from just under £57.98m to £94.92m.  

Also, the home to school transport budget rose by 93 per cent from just under £21.02m to £40.55m.  

Between 2019 and 2024, the council says its budget for providing services to older people rose by 64 per cent.  (Image: Sabine van Erp from Pixabay) A council spokesperson added that over the last 10 years, the council’s core government funding has reduced by 70 per cent in real terms combined and there has been more steep rises in inflation and surge in demand for services supporting vulnerable residents.  

He also said councils across the country have also seen increase demand and cost pressures in areas linked to an aging population and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.  

The Supporting Document says: “With these pressures, limited council tax rises alongside the relatively fixed funding settlement we receive from central Government are not enough for us to achieve financial sustainability.  

“The outdated formula used to calculate Cambridgeshire’s funding settlement does not reflect the county’s fast population growth.   

“This results in Government funding that is £23m beneath the average county council settlement – an amount which exceeds the additional savings we needed to make in each of the last two financial years.”   

The council offers two options to close the budget gap.  

The first is to increase revenue through council tax or charging more for services. The alternative is to decrease spending through efficiencies or reducing services.   

Stock image of a child at a nursery. (Image: Carole LR from Pixabay) This initial survey is where residents have the opportunity to share their views with those who make the decisions.  

The results will be discussed on December 17 at the council’s Strategy, Resources and Performance Committee.  

At that point, a second survey called the “Consultation Survey” will be underway until January 9.     

The views of the residents who take part, county council’s Policy and Service Committees, town and parish councils, business leaders and trade unions will also help towards future planning.  

The Strategy, Resources and Performance Committee meeting on January 28, 2025 will receive a feedback report on this work and will make final recommendations on the business plan and budget proposals.  

These proposals will then be presented to Full Council on February 11, 2025.  

Roads are among the responsibilities of Cambridgeshire County Council. Stock image of a road. (Image: Bill Kasman from Pixabay) In a press release promoting the initial survey, the Council’s Deputy Leader Cllr Elisa Meschini, said: “We are making significant progress against our vision to deliver a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire.  

“We know we have choices about what we prioritise, and we have to set a balanced budget, which is increasingly challenging.” 

The Business Plan and Budget 2025-26 Engagement Survey closes on Monday (December 2). To take part, visit the public consultation website.