North West Leicestershire District Council is to press ahead with its plan to cut a grant to Age UK's befriending service of almost £22,000 - despite an impassioned plea to councillors on Wednesday evening.

It was made clear that the service would not be available if an initial cut of £14,660 is made from April 1, then the service could not continue.

Last night's (Wednesday) meeting of the council's Cabinet discussed which recommendations to put to the council for consideration at its February 22 meeting.

In response to concerns about the £21,990 grant to Age UK, Cabinet members kept the gradual withdrawal of the grant in the budget being recommended to Council, on the basis that the national charity has other funding streams. 

Cabinet agreed that the council could work with the charity in different ways to maintain support for local people.

At the moment, Age UK organises daytime care, activities and social events in Coalville.

But with the council looking to make cuts to its budget, that sum of money is set to reduce over the next three years.

Age UK made a strong individual response to the council following a public consultation on the budget proposals.

Tony Donovan, executive director of Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland, said: "The service has been operational across North West Leicestershire for about 40 years.

"The news that the funding was going to be cut came as a massive, massive blow, we haven't taken any inflationary increase either, so it's a service we subsidise.

Cllr Nick Rushton explained cuts had to be made this year. Photo: Leicestershire County Council

"I was shocked when I got word of this, because I wasn't sure if the councillors were aware of the wide range of services we provide locally as a charity - and the money we bring to your area.

"The service provides befriending support for people with mental health, problems, mobility issues, isolation or those with no family support at all.

"It's a preventative service that helps keep them out of residential and nursing care.

"We've been very happy with the service over the years. Are councillors aware of the other services we run? We run a four days a week day specialist service from the social services centre in Coalville, that's a service for very fail older people and worth around £130,000.

"In Measham, we provide a cafe with mental health problems, that's gone so well it's been extended for a further two years by the funder. That was after a lot of work hard work on our part to get that money.

"We also provide and vibrant home care service. Also, we run a dementia support service, and we have supported 195 people in North West Leicestershire who might otherwise be in care without our intervention, or with families who are under pressure to keep them at home.

"We run a memory clinic in Coalville every month as well. Without the free, confidential advice we give, people would be knocking on the doors of social services and residential homes, but we offer a free service.

"In the last two years, we have secured £249,107 in benefits and that goes back into the economy because they can buy in their own care and buy the food they want. It's a life changer.

"So, why Age UK? Why have we been picked out? I'm very disappointed by this.

"The Citizens Advice Bureau cannot deal with older people, they are referred to us. Each Age UK is dependent on the rest. Over the next three years, we'll have run out of reserves.

"That £22,000 has acted as leverage in bringing money to this area."

The Stenson Square project received little support in the public consultation. Photo: Supplied

Councillor Nick Rushton, Corporate Portfolio Holder for NWLDC, responded: "There's no doubt Age UK does a lot of good work, but it can't possibly rely on our £22,000. We don't have the money we had when this was introduced.

"If you want to write to me, we can consider it as part of the budget recommendations. You can set out how many other contributions you can get from other authorities and we can judge how that affects North West Leicestershire. The final decision will be made in February.

Council leader Cllr Richard Blunt added: "There are a variety of different ways we can work together, our ears are open."

The council's budget proposals include a 2.75 per cent increase in council tax alongside over £4million worth of one-off investments 

The public consultation on the budget proposals received 117 responses.

Proposals for spending £50,000 on improving CCTV and the council tax received the most support from respondents. In total, 63 per cent of people in favour of the increase in council tax.

The proposals with the least support were in relation to the capital projects for Stenson Square and the Marlborough Centre in Coalville.

Additional comments on the draft budget produced some re-occurring themes including:

• That the proposals were Coalville-centred
• That money proposed to be spent on some projects detailed is substantial in a time of financial deficit, and could be used to either address the deficit or reinvested in services.

Discussions with a cross-party group of councillors resulted in the proposal to remove the freephone number being taken out of the draft budget, and also for the initial charge for bulky waste collections to be reduced – making it £25 for up to three items instead of the previous £28 (with additional items being £6.20 each rather than £5.80).

Cllr Rushton added: "I'd like to thank those who gave feedback on the budget proposals, and particularly the work of all councillors in the council, as the range of comments and feedback we've received were able to inform our discussions.

"There's no doubt about it, we're in a position now where we're having to make some difficult decisions to be able to balance the budget, but we're proposing to do this in a way that protects our most important services.

Council tax will rise by 2.75 per cent. Image: Dreamstime.com

"The investments we're proposing are in priority areas – Coalville being one of those areas - and use either grant funding or one-off reserves. These are investments that build on work we're already doing, future-proof our buildings and services, or make our work more efficient and therefore economical. 

"We need to make these decisions now for future years if we're to remain on a sound footing. Bankruptcy is not on the cards for us, but we are having to tighten our belts and make decisions that a few years ago would not have been seen as options."

Against a backdrop of having to make savings to close a predicted £2 million gap in its £18.24 million budget, Council will be asked in February to approve a range of efficiency or income generating measures, including:

Council tax increase

• The draft budget includes an increase of 2.75 per cent in the NWLDC part of the council tax bill, which would see most households paying an extra £4.36 a year or less for district council services, including street cleansing, waste collection, parks and leisure.

Increase in charges for services

• The prices the council charges for some of its services – like trade waste collections and sports pitch hire – are proposed to increase by 7%. E.g. This would take the cost of hiring a 3G sports pitch up by between 60p and £2.25 depending on the group making the booking.

Reduction or removal of some grant funding

• NWLDC currently pays out a variety of grant funding to other organisations in the district. Removing some of this funding gradually over a number of years would help to balance the council's budget when the gap is predicted to increase.

Use of external funding to invest across the district

• The council has UK Shared Prosperity Funding worth £1.2 million, which it proposes to spend across the district – on improvements to Moira Furnace, on a quiet-way in Kegworth, to create new business space in Coalville and to support the National Forest's 'Heart of the Forest' work.

Using one-off capital money to invest to save

• The budget includes some investment of one-off money to support longer-term money-saving or income-generating work. E.g. £150,000 will be spent to demolish the former Council Offices, removing the cost of maintaining and securing the empty building and freeing up the land for sale. £500,000 is earmarked for projects that will save the council money in the longer term, helping to close the budget gap in future years.

 The Council meeting on February 22 is a public meeting. Members of the public are welcome to attend in person, or watch the live stream of the meeting at www.nwleics.gov.uk/committees