Swindon Borough Council facing £19m hole in next year's budget
The council has already identified £12m worth of savings.
Swindon Borough Council need to find £19m to fill a gap in next years budget.
Papers to be presented to the council’s cabinet next week show they've already identified £12m worth of savings.
Next week, Swindon Borough Council will discuss a nearly £20m budget gap for next year, with a current £7.6m overspend mainly driven by rising costs in children’s and adults’ social care.
To manage this, the council has implemented strict spending controls, and is scrutinizing every budget.
They've also identified £12.1m in savings for next year, including community support initiatives. However, they may need to apply for Exceptional Financial Support from the government if the gap remains unfilled.
Councillor Kevin Small, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “Swindon is a microcosm of the wider local government sector and the Government is under no illusions about the scale of the issues we are facing.
“The cost and demand for social care services continues to rise, making up around 80 per cent of our budget.
“The Government recognises that system-wide reform of both children’s and adults’ social care is essential if these costs are to become more financially sustainable for local authorities. It has also committed to reforming local authority funding, for example, by introducing multi-year funding settlements from 2026/27 to give local authorities the certainty to plan and invest for the long term.
“While these much-needed reforms are very welcome, they won’t help us in the immediate term. That’s why we continue to do everything we can to cut spending, applying strict controls.
“We are also investing in a transformation programme in order to fundamentally change how we deliver services, achieve better resident outcomes and value for money between now and 2028.”