Council turns to residents for ideas on saving £30m from its budget

North East Lincolnshire Council is launching a "budget simulator" that will allow residents to produce their own online budget proposals in response to the Government's spending review.

Anyone logging on to the council's website from Monday, November 15, can find out how the budget is spent and allocate money to areas important to them, see the results of their choices on the budget, and submit a budget proposal to the council. The council is also holding a series of public meetings from Monday until the end of the month as it seeks to make savings of 29.7m.

Council leader Andrew De Freitas said: "We are a hands-on council and we have already started to plan for what will be a difficult financial position. "We want to involve our businesses and communities so I urge anyone to come to the meetings or find out more through the budget simulator.

"This is not just a way for people to understand budget constraints, it is a key way of letting us know what is important to individuals and communities. We are listening."

Tony Hunter, the council's chief executive, said some hard choices had to be made.

He said: "In the coming months, we as local authorities will have to find a way of continuing to provide important services with significantly less money. This means finding new ways of working with businesses and communities.

"We are prepared for the challenges ahead and will involve people wherever possible."

Anyone wishing to take part in the exercise should visit www.nelincs.gov.uk