Residents in North Ayrshire are being urged to have their say on how the council spends its cash. 

As part of preparations for setting its 2024/25 budget, North Ayrshire Council (NAC) is asking residents to take the online ‘Budget Challenge’ which allows them to set their own ‘virtual budget’.

By taking the Budget Challenge, you can decide how you would allocate money across the council.

It gives residents the chance to raise or reduce budgets for each council service and see the consequences of their decisions in real time.

The tool has launched online this week at https://budgetchallenge.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/.

Councillor Christina Larsen, cabinet member for dinance and procurement, said: “Following on from the Covid pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, no-one has escaped the financial impact, including the council.

“Demand for our services continues to increase while costs have soared, meaning that our budget comes under greater pressure every year.

“It’s vital that we continue to protect our services as much as we can and that’s why it’s important to know our residents’ priorities.

“The online Budget Challenge will allow our residents to set their own virtual council budget, increasing or decreasing money available for the different services we provide.

“In turn, this allows people to see the consequences of their decisions by describing what the impact of reducing or increasing a specific budget will be.

“I would encourage as many people as possible to take part as the results will help inform elected members when we consider the 2024/25 budget early next year.”

Although the Budget Challenge is online, those without digital access can still take part.

Either head to your local library or call the council’s customer services team on 01294 310000.