The corporate director of resources at Leicestershire County Council has told Room151 that the council’s “terrifying” financial situation will be echoed at other similar-sized authorities across the country.
Chris Tambini, who is also president of the Society of County Treasurers (SCT) said that a recent unpublished SCT survey found that none of the respondents had a balanced budget in 2023/24 and the average budget gap was close to £40m.
“I expect other classes of authority would show gaps of a similar size in relative terms. Leicestershire County Council’s challenge is pretty much in line with that of many others.,” he said.
“Our leader describes the position [at Leicestershire] as terrifying and I would not disagree.”
A report written by Tambini for a meeting of the council’s cabinet on 23 September shows a budget gap of £28m next year rising potentially to £140m in 2026.
The report highlights the impact of global events, inflation, pay increases, surging demand for services and the continued impact of Covid-19. It suggests that planned savings of £54m will have to increase significantly.
“At Leicestershire we have traditionally gone public early with our budget position. Our politicians believe that it is right to be upfront and honest with residents and staff. It also puts the organisation in a far better position to make the right decisions to balance the budget,” he said.
Tambini did not seem optimistic that extra funding would be provided by the government in response to the unprecedented circumstances.
“We will have to wait and see if the government finds more funding for councils to meet inflationary pressures. However, we do know given the extra borrowing required to fund tax cuts and the energy cap, the Treasury has very little room to manoeuvre.”
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