Planned cuts to council services in North Somerset could be made earlier than planned as increasing costs of care are set to overshoot the council’s budget.
North Somerset Council leader Mike Bell warned: “We have a strong track record of delivering budget savings but are now in the position where our unfunded pressures are restricting our ability to deliver essential council services.”
The council has so far identified more than ten million pounds of cuts and savings to make to balance its budget for the next financial year in February. But now some of those may be brought in early as increasing costs of care mean that expenditure in the current financial year is set to outstrip the available budget by £2.3m.
Mr Bell said: “We are legally required to balance our budget at the end of the year and we are committed to doing that. However, to achieve this in the current challenging circumstances we are now introducing more immediate measures and it’s inevitable that some of these will have an impact on the communities we serve.
“We’re reviewing the savings we’ve identified for next year to see which could be introduced more quickly. We’re also looking at any spending that could be deferred until next year. And if posts become vacant we won’t be filling them straight away, with recruitment of staff pausing for the time being.”
Mr Bell added: “We remain locked into a cycle of historic underfunding that is leaving us further and further behind. Recent news from government of the settlement figure for the year ahead has not helped the situation at all, and I have written to the government and our MPs requesting a meeting with the minister to address our concerns and the impact they will have on local communities.”
North Somerset Council will meet in full on Tuesday January 9 where a verbal update is expected with details on what action the council is taking.
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