LOOK out for the giant set of scales at upcoming events as Somerset County Council invites your feedback on how to balance the books.

The council will be seeking residents view at Bridgwater Market on Fore Street this Saturday (August 20) between 9am and 2pm.

Residents will be invited to use a giant set of scales to try and balance the council's budget, showing their priorities by dropping coins into 'think tanks' and completing a short questionnaire about some key issues and opportunities.

This is the fourth year the authority has run the events and the roadshow is visiting 11 towns across the county throughout the summer. 

This year’s events take place as the council looks ambitiously to the future while facing up to the challenges of rising demand and falling funding. 

“We’ve met more than 4,500 people so far at our events, since they started at the end of May, and I’m delighted that so many people have taken the time to share their views with us”, said Cllr John Osman, Leader of Somerset County Council.

“With initiatives like our push for Devolution and Our Vision for Somerset, we have ambitious plans for the future. However, we also have a major budget gap to close because of the big reductions in funding from central Government and increasing costly demand for our services.

“We estimate we need to make savings of around £15m from our budget next year,” said Cllr Osman. “That means difficult decisions and we want to speak to as many people as possible to get some idea of their priorities and views to help inform those decisions.”

Central Government funding for the County Council fell by £15m last year and is due to fall by a further £40m by 2019/2020.

At the same time, demand for the authority’s services, particularly more complex and expensive Adult Social Care, is increasing as Somerset’s population ages. 

In less than 20 years, people aged 65 and over will make up more than a quarter of the population in almost every part of the county.