Norfolk County Council facing £4m in cuts due to inflation
The local authority has already had to dip into its reserves to fill the gap
Norfolk County Council could be forced to make more cuts worth millions of pounds after surging inflation created a black hole in its budget.
County Hall has revealed it is expecting a £5m overspend in its accounts for this year, blaming rising costs.
The gap has opened up in the budget for children’s services, with officials saying it is costing more to find care placements for youngsters, and to transport children with disabilities and special educational needs to school.
To make up for the shortfall, it is taking £1m from its reserves, with £4m to come from extra savings.
The figure comes on top of the £60m that County Hall already needs to save next year.
It has previously announced some proposed cuts to plug this gap, including reductions to mobile library services and closing recycling centres one day a week.
The council has said the latest budget overspend is beyond its control, but the Labour opposition has argued the authority should have seen the increases coming.
Andrew Jamieson, cabinet member for finance, told his colleagues at a cabinet meeting on Monday the overspend was a result of increased costs and continuing pressures from the pandemic.
He said: “This has been particularly severe in children’s services where home school transport costs are now crystallising at an additional estimated £2m, as the impact of a greater rise in fuel prices than was anticipated at budget setting feeds through.”
Mr Jamieson said the cost of social care placements for children has also “ramped up severely”, which has cost an additional £3m.
He said much of the problem was outside County Hall’s control and reflected a national issue.
Labour’s group leader Steve Morphew said he and his colleagues had warned about issues like rising transport costs.
He said: “They have been too complacent for too long and they can’t just shift blame when they have been warned about what is coming down the track.
“We will now reap the consequences of poor financial management on top of future factors they can’t predict.”
The meeting of cabinet members also agreed to spend an extra £3m on a new multi-user hub in King’s Lynn, which will replace the existing library.
Mr Jamieson insisted the project was not a “white elephant” following criticism from Alexandra Kemp, a county councillor for King’s Lynn, who said the hub was expected to only have a lifespan of 30 to 40 years.
Deputy council leader Graham Plant said the new hub, set for the former Argos building in the centre of town, will draw people into King’s Lynn and make it more viable for other businesses.