Dan Peters 28 September 2023

Council to limit non-essential spending amid s114 threat

Windsor & Maidenhead BC is to limit all non-essential spending as it raised the risk of a section 114.

The council said it would reduce and stop some services, and scale back its capital programme to reduce borrowing costs, with interest payments currently forecast to reach £8m this year and £14m in 2024-25.

Council debt stands at more than £200m - high relative to the size of the council’s budget, which is forecast to overspend by £7.3m this year and £6.2m in 2024-25.

The council said low levels of general fund reserves (£10.2m) limited its ability to absorb unexpected budget pressures while £2m of the £5.8m high-risk savings included in the 2023-24 budget are now ‘at risk of proving undeliverable’.

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#Debt #Legal #Reserves #Whitehall #Finance #Budgets and efficiency #S114

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