Published on Wednesday 19 November 2025
People living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are asked to help shape the future of their council’s budget ahead of the next financial year.
Anyone can visit bcpcouncil.gov.uk/budget and fill out the online survey.
The council is asking all residents, council taxpayers, council service users, community groups, Town and Parish Councils, businesses and partner organisations to share their ideas to help achieve its vision – of a place where people, nature, coast and towns come together in sustainable, safe and healthy communities - within a balanced budget.
Residents are invited to look at all key council services, from supporting vulnerable adults and children to maintaining highways and indicate if they would like to see a spending increase or decrease in these areas.
People visiting the survey page can also tell the authority what they think are its most important services, and for their views on Council Tax rates.
The findings of this public consultation will help inform decisions on how the council sets it budget for 2026/7 and beyond.
BCP Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Mike Cox said:
“We want residents to be involved in local decisions that affect them, their family and their community, and that’s why we want to hear directly from everyone through this consultation.
“Right now, councils across the country continue to cope with an unprecedented funding crisis.
“Like all other local authorities, we are operating within an extremely challenging financial environment in which the surge in demand for council services continues to grow, but the funding available to provide them has not kept up with this need.
“The most pressing example of this is the continued lack of government intervention to address the growing national debt of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). This is not just a local issue – it is a national crisis – with a deficit increasing beyond any known plans to tackle it from Westminster.
“But over the last few years our robust financial governance and proactive budget management means we have taken significant steps to avoid serious government interventions that we have seen in other parts of the country.
“And we are taking the initiative again by reaching out to residents to hear their views. This helps us ensure we are working to deliver the services they really rely on the most and tells us where to look first when needing to identify further potential savings and efficiencies.”
The consultation will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 14 December 2025.
People can complete the survey and submit their ideas by visiting bcpcouncil.gov.uk/budget
Hard copies are also available at local libraries.