Devon County Council’s leader has warned that the local authority will have to make ‘deep cuts’ to the county’s local services unless the Government provides more help.
Council leader John Hart said that he understood that the country faced a ‘profound economic crisis’, but urged the PM and Chancellor to ensure the balance between tax rises and spending cuts was fair.
Cllr Hart warned that the local authority’s financial situation ‘has never been so bleak as it is now.’
‘Before the summer we revealed a black hole in our finances for this year due to surging demand for help and support for vulnerable children and adults, the continuing costs of the pandemic and the dramatic rise in costs and inflation,’ he said.
‘We have been working hard to find savings in this current financial year but it’s like filling the bath with the plug out as demand for our services and our costs keep escalating.
‘On top of that we now calculate that – as things stand – we face a £75m shortfall in our budget for next year.’
Mr Hart said a report from the National Audit Office had revealed a 53.7% cut in Government funding for local councils between 2010 and 2020. Devon’s core funding from the Government had reduced by 72% in real terms in the 11 years up to 2021/22.
Mr Hart said he was ‘proud’ of the council’s ability to weather austerity, but added that ‘all of the work we do will be under threat if we have to make drastic cuts across all our services to balance the books as we are required to do by law. However, that will be the reality if the Government doesn’t act to protect local government.’
