Your views on how we prioritise services and make savings

Herefordshire Council provides a wide range of vital services to around 191,000 residents, with a net budget (how much we have available to spend each year) of £231.5 million.

We want your input into how we spend our budget – because we are facing significant reductions in what we have available to spend.

In autumn 2025, we warned that cuts in funding from the Government, along with rising demand for vital services, means that our budget for 2026/2027 could be significantly reduced.

That's why we will have to make difficult choices about prioritising services, and identifying savings and efficiencies. We're asking for your input.

How Herefordshire Council's budget supports residents - overview

The budget is split between a range of council services. Much of our spending is on those people who need the most support.

• About £99 million (39%) is spent on Community Wellbeing services. This includes Adult Social Care, where we have a legal duty to support people who need help with many, or all, aspects of daily life, often due to significant physical, mental health and disability challenges.
  
  
• The second largest amount - around £59 million (25%) - is spent on Children and Young People. We have a duty to provide Children’s Social Care support to children at risk of harm, and in some cases, we must take them into care. Our support to children and families is an essential part of our statutory role in looking after the most vulnerable.
  
  
• 18% of our annual budget is spent on Economy and Environment, including bin collections and waste management, repairing and maintaining streetlights and local roads.
  
  
• The remaining budget covers a huge range of other services, including our corporate costs. You can read more about these services in the survey.

The budget consultation

The council must set a budget that meets the needs of its residents and is realistic in meeting the cost and demand for our services. Within our financial planning there are priorities and choices to be made of where and how the money is spent. These can be difficult choices especially when faced with competing demands and not enough money to do everything we would like to.

To help us make the right decisions, informed by our residents, we want your involvement. Please complete this survey to tell us more about what matters most to you and where you think spending should be focused. This will help us prioritise how we use our limited resources and where we focus necessary savings.

We are asking you to imagine you are responsible for setting Herefordshire Council's budget. Consider each major service area and tell us whether you would be comfortable or not with a reduction in spending in each area.

Complete the survey

The closing date for the survey is Sunday 4 January 2026.

How we'll use the information from this consultation

The information we gather will be used to inform our budget and the result of the consultation will be published on this page in 2026. Any comments provided will be treated as confidential and will be anonymised before publication.

If you have any queries please contact us at researchteam@herefordshire.gov.uk

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