Council faces £15.6m overspend on services by end of the financial year
Calderdale Council’s budget pressures will be discussed at its next Cabinet meeting on Monday 9 November.
Cabinet Members will consider the second quarterly revenue monitoring report of the 2020/2021 financial year.
The current forecast is for an overall overspend on services of £15.6m by the end of the financial year. Of this, the estimated impact of COVID-19 is £12.4m.
However, the financial position has improved since the first revenue monitor in July 2020, when the forecast overspend was £17.7m.
A spokesman for the council explained: “The financial impact of COVID-19 will be felt for some time. There will be a significant shortfall between additional costs and Government funding when losses on council tax and business rates are taken into account.
“These losses are currently estimated to be up to £10.6m. The Government has extended the period over which council tax and business rates collection fund deficits must be recovered, from one year to three years.
“This means that the losses will not be felt in the current financial year, but they will in later years.
“Therefore, it is vital that the council continues with its recovery plan to make agreed savings, contain additional costs through Government grants where possible, review discretionary spend and reshape council services with a focus on those that are needed most, through the Future Council transformation programme.”
Councillor Tim Swift, leader of Calderdale Council, said: “Once again, we are reporting a very challenging financial position.
“The improvements and savings made since summer are promising, and are testament to our talented and enterprising staff.
“However, with further COVID-19 impacts to come, the council tax and business rates losses and the budget pressures we already faced before the pandemic, the years ahead look extremely difficult.
“We will keep doing everything we can to make savings and will monitor the full impact of the virus on our finances as the situation develops.
“We will keep innovating and transforming our services as we continue to support our communities.
“Further Government support will be vital to help us do this; otherwise, even tougher decisions will have to be made.”
The council areas facing the biggest overspends due to COVID-19 are Public Services – mainly due to lost income from parking and the closure of sports and cultural facilities during lockdown – and Adult Services and Wellbeing, due to extra support for people most at risk during the pandemic.
