North Norfolk District Council facing £1m deficit this year
They're set to meet with government representatives to lobby for more funding
A Norfolk council is to meet with government representatives to lobby for more funding as it faces nearly a £1m deficit in its finances.
This week, officials from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are to meet with North Norfolk District Council to discuss their financial woes, which expects to have a £986,000 blackhole by the end of the month.
It is hoped the authority can persuade the government that more help is needed to cope with the money difficulties, with members saying they have “done everything they can”.
A report has revealed the wide range of increased costs faced by the authority, ranging from a £35,000 overspend on car parking machine repairs, more than a million pounds spent on temporary accommodation and £200,000 on agency staff.
Other factors that have hit the council’s finances include the cancellation of the Mammoth Marathon in May last year (£35,000), energy costs that have gone over budget by £123,000 and emergency tree works costing £60,000.
However, some of this overspend has been balanced by savings and increased income but, overall, rising costs have led to a growing deficit of £986,000.
At a NNDC cabinet meeting, Lucy Shires, portfolio holder for finance, said one of the biggest problems was the cost of temporary accommodation and that government housing subsidies have only covered half of the costs.
Councillor Wendy Fredericks hoped that the meeting this week will allow them to show DLUHC the “unique need of housing” in north Norfolk, adding that the council had “tried everything we can” to cope with the financial problems.
Tim Adams, leader of the Liberal Democrat-run council, said it was good that the authority’s money problems were on the government’s radar and that they will “continue to work together to highlight the problems we are continually facing.”
The council is expecting to meet with government representatives on Wednesday this week.