City of York Council may be forced to request exceptional financial support to help close a £32.3m budget gap and avoid the risk of declaring effective bankruptcy.
A report by Debbie Mitchell, the council’s Director of Finance, forecasts the shortfall over the next two years and says closing it will require a ‘whole organisation approach’.
It warns the authority faces ‘some of the most significant financial challenges we have ever experienced’, adding that the savings required will ‘inevitably impact on our staff and our residents’.
A Local Government Association review summarised in the report concludes that the council must urgently deliver its existing savings plans, accelerate transformation activity and develop additional measures to address future gaps. Otherwise, it may need to consider exceptional financial support to avoid the risk of a Section 114 notice.
The council’s Executive will be asked on 3 November to agree the Medium Term Financial Strategy and to authorise Mitchell to discuss the council’s options with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Financial Resilience Team.
Members will also be asked to continue making the case for a better settlement for York following the Fair Funding Review and the three-year Local Government Finance Settlement.
