Council's £5.3m savings "not deliverable"

Over £5.3 million in savings needed to balance this year’s Powys County Council budget are not deliverable, it has been claimed.

On Monday members of the council's Finance Panel will have the opportunity to quiz portfolio holder for finance, Cllr Aled Davies on the financial overview and forecast for the council as it stood at the end of October.

And on Wednesday, 27 November, he will get to discuss it all again at a meeting of the cabinet.

The position had been getting better but the report shows that several departments  are finding it difficult to make the cuts and find the savings.

Cllr Davies says in his report: “The forecast shows an improved position with the projected overspend now reported at £2.715 million by year end down from £3.398 million reported in September. The improved position reflects the delivery of additional savings. In a month from the end of September to the end of October an extra £1.068 million in savings was found. This takes the estimated savings up to £13.589 million."

This is out of a total budget savings requirement of £21.692 million for 2019/20 financial year.

The report adds that further savings of £2.784 million are expected to be delivered.

Cllr Davies adds: “Assurances have been provided that further savings of £2.784million can be delivered this year. The remaining £5.318 million is considered to be unachievable in the current financial year.”

The money cannot be taken out of the budget permanently and might be rolled over into future budgets.

Cllr Davies explains that at the cabinet had decided at their last meeting on, Tuesday, November 5: “That the senior leadership team be asked to review the position and propose a plan to bridge the gap as a matter of urgency.”

Some of the main areas of concern where overspends are forecast are:

Adult services: £931,00
Children’s Services: £4.986million
Highways, Transport and Recycling – £2.2 million
Head of Finance and PCC s 151 officer, Jane Thomas, said: “Assurance continues that further savings can be achieved during this financial year.

“The continued gap in the delivery of savings and the proposals to address this must be resolved quickly, as this will continue to impact on the budget in future years.

“The leadership team must review the Children’s Service budget position and consider how the continued level of expenditure and under delivery of savings is to be addressed.”

“The potential pressures identified in Adult Social Care are significant and although to date only 37% of these have materialised this still represents a risk to our projected forecast.”

 

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service