Shropshire councillor reassures residents amid £37m forecast overspend

Gwilym Butler says communities will be consulted on proposed cuts.

Author: Alice Smith / Mike SheridanPublished 14th Oct 2024
Last updated 14th Oct 2024

A Shropshire councillor's reassuring residents the authority has a long-term plan for sustainability, after they announced a forecast £37m overspend.

It comes as the Council say residents will feel the pinch of budget cuts this winter.

We spoke to councillor Gwilym Butler about the planned cuts.

"To ensure that we remain sustainable, there may be some things that in the short term we have to stop, or postpone, just so we can tackle that projected overspend," he said.

"What people may see is a reduction in the speed that potholes and roads are repaired. And we may have to review some library and leisure services.

"But it will be done completely with consultation with the communities. No decision has been made yet," he said.

Councillor Gwilym told us he encourages local groups working with the council to build sustainable plans for residents getting the services they need.

"There are a lot of opportunities with town and parish councils - and other voluntary community sectors - to work with us, to maintain those services. Or develop hybrid services of how we move forward in the future," he said.

He said being able to provide essential and non-essential services is key.

"We have to make sure that Shropshire Council becomes the right sized organisation, that it concentrates on the basic services.

"But at the same time, we need to work with our communities to maintain the non-statutory services they enjoy and rely on," he said.

Despite the forecast overspend of £37m, a meeting of Shropshire Council’s cabinet will next week hear that the authority’s financial position has improved slightly on earlier forecasts which could have seen reserves run as low as £300,000.

A monthly budget monitoring report shows the council’s average spending forecast is predicted to be at around £37.2m, down from £38.5m in the earlier part of the year.

But the report from finance director James Walton warns the council remains vulnerable to “unanticipated shocks” until an extra reduction in spending of at least 10% can be found.

“An initial General Fund Balance of £38.821m indicates that while the projected variance can be accommodated, significant action must be taken to ensure the financial survival of the Council in the current year including to provide ’headroom’ against unanticipated shocks,” said the report.

“A reduction in planned spending to the end of the year of 10% would see an improvement in the overall forecast of around £20m. This would reduce pressure on the General Fund Balance and ensure that the Council had sufficient funds to withstand unanticipated financial shocks, in the normal manner and in line with good practice in financial management.

“The financial position of the council remains highly challenging. The key overall indicator of financial health for the Council is the General Fund Balance.”

The update comes as Shropshire Council battles with a savings target of £62.5m for the current financial year, on top of around £20m worth of “one-off” savings which were found in the last financial year. Around 53% of this year’s planned savings are currently on course to be delivered, with plans in place for a further 4.5%.

The report will be considered by Shropshire Council’s cabinet on Wednesday, October 16.

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