Local people can have their say online at Shropshire Council website

Following the Government’s emergency budget announcements, Shropshire Council will give all local residents the opportunity to have their views heard on cuts in public spending through its website.

Council Leader, Keith Barrow, explained “The council has a web-based tool, the ‘Budget Simulator’, which we will use for consulting the public about the council’s budget proposals.

“This makes it easy for local people to tell us where savings or additional investment should be made, and to explain their reasons for this. It is a quick and effective way for their voice to be heard directly inside Shirehall.

“We launched this last year and it proved to be very popular, with over 1,000 hits on our website to make comments during the consultation period.

“Given the scale of changes in public spending now needed, we will be listening closely to what people tell us about their priorities, and will be making special arrangements to consult as widely as possible.

“As part of this, we plan to use the Budget Simulator again this year, and it will be available before the end of July. Initially, we will consult on the framework for the Budget and will share more information for public comment over the next six months, as we progress through the options and choices available to us for reducing our spending.

“I would encourage people to use it to tell us what they think. We will look closely at all the responses before we make final decisions on our Budget. The comments we receive will be available for the public to view on the website, and a summary of the main messages will be considered at a meeting of the full council.

” The Budget Simulator will go live for the public, as soon as the council’s Cabinet has set out the initial Budget framework for 2011/12 and for future years, at its meeting on 21 July.

For those without access to, or who are unfamiliar with, websites, details of other ways in which people can comment on the Budget, including the dates of public meetings across Shropshire in coming months, will also be published by the council soon.

People can also talk directly about these things to their local councillors.

Go to the Shropshire Coucil Customer Portal to comment on spending cuts.