Council faces £18.5m budget deficit over next three years
Calderdale Council has warned it will be forced to cut services it is not legally bound to offer, as it outlines its proposed budget for the coming financial year.
The budget proposals, which threaten up to 44 full time equivalent jobs across the council over the next three years, were presented by the leader of the council at a Cabinet meeting. It marks the start of a period of public consultation.
Based on the council’s current financial forecasts, the local authority is now facing budget deficits of £7.5m in 2024/5, £6.2m in 2025/6 and £4.8m in 2026/27.
Councillor Jane Scullion, leader of Calderdale Council said: “These are extremely challenging times and unfortunately, we are now faced with some very difficult choices. Calderdale has a proud record of robust financial management, and we will not put that reputation at risk.
“Our priority is to set a sustainable budget, for this and subsequent years. We must be able to continue to balance the books.
“Over recent years we have tried to do ‘more with less’ but this is not sustainable and inevitably we must now look at reducing services which we are not legally required to provide.
“Like all councils Calderdale must by law provide certain services such as social care and refuse collections, whereas many other services whilst important, are optional. To protect our most critical services we have no choice but to make some tough decisions.”
The council says it is having to contend with higher contract costs, pay inflation, and rising energy costs, along with additional investments required in children’s and adults’ social care.
And it notes that it has already made savings of £120m by 2023/24, compared to its 2010 budget.
Measures outlined in the planned budget include an increase in Council Tax of 4.99%.
Proposed budgets savings include: a reduction in youth services across the borough; a reduction in the level of preventative work of the Youth Justice service; cutbacks on spending on contracts with external suppliers; introduction of a permit scheme to use household waste centres; and the closure of Elland household waste recycling centre.
