Tory leader ‘dismayed’ by Lib Dems’ budget blow news
A £6.5 million overspend has been recorded in the first three months of the financial year
Last updated 12th Sep 2025
The leader of the Conservative group at Wiltshire Council has hit out at the Liberal Democrat administration over its handling of a £6.5 million budget overspend in the first three months of the financial year.
The Lib Dem administration revealed the overspend on Tuesday, September 9 saying it had been caused by rising costs in its adult social care and children’s social care services.
There have also been “ongoing financial pressures” including continuing higher levels of inflation and changes to Employers National Insurance rates, introduced by central government after this year’s Wiltshire Council budget was set.
The overspend equates to 1.2 per cent of its £527.4 million budget. The administration said that “further mitigations are being implemented to ensure the council continues to deliver high-quality services and provide good value for money while operating within the budget”.
But Conservative group leader Richard Clewer said he was not happy with the administration’s solution to the problem.
“It is extremely disappointing to see that there is no detail of the steps that the council are going to take to address the overspend,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“The financial position in adult social care is getting worse this year and I am concerned that instead of controlling the cost of contracts we are seeing them escalate out of control.
“As a council we have limited resources and cannot simply increase the amount we pay because suppliers demand more money.
“The report talks about £4 million of ‘unbudgeted uplifts,’ words that we should never be happy to see in a budget monitoring report. Budgets are carefully set and should be stuck to.”
He went on: “The most concerning part of the report for me however is that the Liberal Democrat administration has failed to list any new mitigations or management measures to control costs.
“We are over a third of the way through the financial year and it is essential that the council puts measures in place now to bring this overspend under control.
“Words are not enough, we need to know what actions will be taken and then see them being implemented as soon as possible.
“Using reserves to fund our day to day spending is simply not an option that should be considered in a budget monitoring report.”
Cllr Clewer and Council leader Ian Thorn will meet over the conference table during next week’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 16.
We've contacted Wiltshire Council for a response.