Thurrock Council has requested £182.5m of exceptional financial support from the government to balance its budget following further intervention.
Jonathan Wilson, Thurrock’s acting director of finance, outlined in a draft 2023/24 budget report that the council faces a £184m funding gap for 2023/24 and that “there is no clear path to financial sustainability without exceptional support from government”.
He wrote: “This report proposes a balanced budget for 2023/24 with the assumption that the current projection of exceptional support from government of £182.492m will be granted. At time of writing, discussions are ongoing with central government.”
Wilson outlined that departmental savings and an increase in council tax of 4.99%, including a proposed adult social care precept of 2%, will also be needed to achieve a balanced budget.
This increase is within the national referendum limit and follows a council report on 9 January, which proposed to request permission from the government to raise council tax above the limit due to the “extremely serious nature” of the authority’s financial situation.
Room151 Networking: A safe space for creative thinking
Thurrock Council faces a projected funding gap of £460m for 2022/23 and its level of borrowing currently stands at £1.3bn. The state of Thurrock’s finances prompted Wilson to issue a section 114 notice in December 2022.
Last week, levelling up secretary Michael Gove announced that he is “minded” to expand intervention in Thurrock Council by granting commissioners additional powers following concerns over the authority’s “significant financial failings”.
The government first announced measures to intervene in Thurrock Council in September 2022 and appointed Essex County Council as commissioner and best value inspector.
—————
FREE weekly newsletters
Subscribe to Room151 Newsletters
Room151 LinkedIn Community
Join here
Monthly Online Treasury Briefing
Sign up here with a .gov.uk email address
Room151 Webinars
Visit the Room151 channel
