The leader of Wakefield Council has warned that the local authority will have to cut services to close its £24.7m budget gap and accused the Government of ‘kicking the can down the road’ when it comes to council funding.
The council has published its initial budget proposals for 2023/34, which include proposals to find £14m from service efficiencies and savings. This includes a saving of over £2m by scrapping vacant posts, reducing staffing and reviewing structures.
The budget proposals also include finding £2m of savings from increasing charges at leisure centres and for services like trade waste and pest control; £3.3m of savings from the levy of a 2% Adult Social Care precept; and £4.9m from increasing council tax.
Cllr Denise Jeffery, leader of Wakefield Council, said: ‘The Government’s funding model for local councils is completely unsustainable and fundamentally damaging. My greatest concern is the impact on our residents who are already struggling in the middle of a brutal cost of living crisis.
‘For half a decade now, the Government has been handing out funding year by year, giving us no ability to plan for the future. The funding for 2023/24 is just enough to keep councils on the edge of the cliff for one more year and yet again pushes a greater financial burden onto the taxpayer. Sooner or later the Government need to stop kicking the can down the road, and sort it out.’
Cllr Jeffery said: ‘Good financial management over the years means we continue to be able to protect most frontline services. We are acutely aware that residents’ lives will be affected by any changes to our services and our financial decisions. We know many of you are already struggling to get by.
‘The Government claims that councils have “an option” to raise Council Tax. The reality is they have given us no choice. Their continued and woeful underfunding, simply puts the financial burden on local people, something we have worked so hard to avoid.’
