COUNCILLORS have agreed to a four-year deal with the government to accept funding which will gradually fall to zero by 2020, in an attempt to gain some certainty over their future.

The decision, subject to conditions yet to be announced, was made at the full Wiltshire Council meeting at County Hall on Tuesday, as cabinet members presented the proposal for the settlement as opposed to a yearly deal they have been offered.

The deal would see their support grant reduced from £34.73 million, which they have been given for this financial year, to nothing by 2020.

Cllr Dick Tonge, cabinet member for finance, said: “We are committed to delivering on our key priorities however we do so against a backdrop of decreasing finances. We constantly have to consider new innovative ways to find the necessary savings and deliver our services. Having the ability to plan our finances for the next four years, rather than yearly, allows us to prepare for the future with fewer surprises.”

The aim of the scheme is for the council to become self-funding, raising money from council tax and a proportion of business rates with no Government grant.

They will also be able to use capital receipts from the sale of non-housing assets to fund revenue costs of service reform and transformation made within that period.

The figures were shown to the public at a series of interactive meetings held earlier this month, which showed Wiltshire Council will receive £18.29 million in 2017/18, falling to £8.05 million in 2018/19.

Cllr Tonge said then that if it didn’t accept the deal, it would give the council little certainty over what funding, if any, it would get.

“We have to balance the budget every year and it is something we have to take very seriously because we will be in trouble if we don’t,” he said. “The government are saying if you sign up for it, that is what you get but if you don’t then you get what you are given. The offer gives us certainty so you can plan the next four years.” rather than scrabble around.”

Further information on the four-year deal will be released by Government in December with final details reported to full council in February 2017.

The council currently spends around £900m each year on more than 350 services and hopes to make further savings of £45m over the next four years.