Councils in England are “running out of road” in relation to their funds, with nearly half saying they have no idea if they’ll steadiness their budgets subsequent yr.
The County Councils Network (CCN) stated 41 county and unitary authorities in England are staring down a price range hole of £4bn over the following three years, and shall be unable to stave it off on cuts alone.
Barry Lewis, the CCN’s vice-chair, stated the size of the cuts wanted to fill the hole is “simply unsustainable” after “a decade of continuous cutbacks”.
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This yr, councils predict a complete price range deficit of £603m, regardless of making cuts of greater than £1bn, with round 10% reporting they’re not sure if they’ll steadiness their books.
That determine rises to 4 in 10 for subsequent yr, with councils anticipated to overspend by greater than £600m, with the proportion growing once more to 6 in 10 by 2025/26.
It comes after quite a lot of councils, together with Birmingham, Woking, Northumberland and Slough, issued Section 114 notices – which successfully declares chapter.
Mr Lewis added the rising price of kids’s social care was the principle explanation for the price range issues, accounting for round 50% of the forecasted overspend, and known as for extra assist from the chancellor in his Autumn Statement this month.
He stated: “The number of vulnerable children requiring care has risen dramatically post-pandemic, while inflation and a broken provider market in statutory care placements mean councils face no choice but to pay spiralling fees.”
Mr Lewis added: “Last year the chancellor stepped in with much-needed additional resources for adult social care. We now need the same priority to be given to vulnerable children, providing emergency funding this year and next.”
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The councils concerned within the CCN report cowl 26.9 million individuals, roughly 48% of the inhabitants, with quite a lot of them already expressing concern over funds.
In September, Derbyshire County Council stated it anticipated to overspend by £46m, and agreed to introduce cuts to stop it.
Shropshire stated it was going through a £37.6m overspend, whereas Suffolk reported £22m and Hertfordshire £16.4m.
Overall, cuts value £2bn are anticipated to be revamped the following three years, however a spot of just below the identical quantity continues to be predicted.
Mr Lewis stated: “Birmingham’s recent financial difficulties and issuing of a Section 114 were undoubtedly made worse by the council’s performance and governance.
“But, until we act now, this evaluation exhibits that different well-managed councils are operating out of highway to stop insolvency.”
Source: information.sky.com”