The leader of Herefordshire Council yesterday wrote to the PM warning the local authority will have to make ‘difficult decisions’ about what services to cut to close a budget gap of more than £22m.

Cllr David Hitchiner highlighted the financial crisis currently facing local government due to the impact of inflation and fuel costs on councils that have experienced a decade of austerity. He warned that Herefordshire Council’s ability to maintain a financially sustainable and resilient service position was ‘at real risk.’

The local authority anticipates a budget gap of more than £22m in 2023/24. The council calculated that this would rise to around £57m by 2026/27. However, Cllr Hitchiner warned that given the Government’s commitment in the Autumn Statement to pursue further austerity measures, the budget gap ‘could turn out to be worse.’

In his letter to Rishi Sunak, Cllr Hitchiner said that without support from the Government, Herefordshire Council could be forced to cut services or charge for services in order to achieve a balanced budget.

‘With or without council tax rising to the maximum allowed, we shall also need to take extremely difficult decisions about which vital services to reduce further or stop entirely,’ wrote Cllr Hitchiner.

‘As you would expect, we are considering where we can lawfully make charges for our services, but as I’m sure you are aware, such flat tariff charging inevitably has the greatest impact on the most vulnerable in our communities and those least equipped to pay.’

He continued: ‘Prime Minister, from your time as Chancellor, you already know that local government consistently demonstrates the ability to carry out many important functions on behalf of central government – dealing with the COVID pandemic, helping meet carbon reduction targets, stimulating the local economy, support for refugees, and providing emergency response at a local level.

‘Our ability to continue to do this is set to be severely limited as these areas form parts of the few non-statutory service areas available to us to deliver further savings. This, right at the time when these same staff and their skills are what your government signals are central to your growth and recovery ambitions.’

‘What we are seeking now is a sufficient level of sustained funding from Westminster,’ Cllr Hitchiner concluded.

‘This is essential to allow us to continue to deliver vital and much-valued services to the most vulnerable in our communities so that we can effectively plan services for our rural county into the future.’