Warrington Borough Council could be facing a £29m overspend by the end of the financial year, the cabinet member for corporate finance has warned.
The council is facing an overspend on adult social care services (£7.6m), children’s services (£11.7m), special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) (£4m) and temporary accommodation (£1.8m).
Cabinet member for corporate finance, Cllr Denis Matthews, said the overspend puts the local authority in a ‘very pressurised position’ but added there was still time for the council to make ‘carefully targeted interventions.’
‘Although the overspend projection in Warrington is ours to manage, we are far from alone in facing a difficult challenge this financial year. Total funding for councils in 2024-25 is around £13bn less in real terms compared to 2010/11, but local authorities continue to be asked to deliver more,’ he said.
‘The pressures we face are acute, but I must stress – we are well managed, we know the scale of the problem and we are putting plans in place, to help us address the budget challenge we face.’
The Local Government Association last month warned the council urgently needed to get a grip on its finances because it has a debt burden of £1.8bn and so has ‘a very different risk profile to many other local authorities'.
