Wakefield Council has faced estimated funding cuts of £300m since 2010, committee told

Wakefield Council has had to deal with funding cuts estimated to be worth around £300m since 2010, councillors heard.

A senior finance officer revealed the figure as scrutiny committee members discussed the potential impact of proposed spending cuts to plug a £24m funding gap over the next financial year.

Council chiefs are proposing a maximum hike in council tax, an end to free parking and the scrapping of some local authority jobs to balance the books.

Graham Isherwood, chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny management board, asked: “Since 2010, the council has been faced with ever-reducing funding, year, after year, after year.

“What has been the global budget reduction in Wakefield since 2010?”

Caroline Carter, the council’s service manager for financial management, said it was difficult to give an exact figure but it is believed to be around £300m.

Coun Isherwood replied: “It’s no wonder you’ve got a job on.”

The council is proposing making £14m of ‘efficiency savings’, including saving over £2m by scrapping vacant council posts.

It also proposes using £10m of reserves, the council’s emergency funds, to ease the pressure on services and residents.

Andrew Balchin, the council’s chief executive, told the meeting: “It doesn’t get any easier to balance the budget after a number of years of constraints on public spending.

“This year it has been particularly challenging for a number of reasons.

“First of all, the current financial year has presented us with some pretty unprecedented challenges.

“Inflation has been around 11 per cent and we have seen what has been happening in relation to energy bills.

“Right across the board, all of our budgets have been challenged.”

Mr Balchin said long-term financial planning was a problem as the government continues to give one-year local government finance settlements.

He added: “Because of this uncertainty, it makes it difficult to plan effectively for our services.”

Mr Balchin said the local authority would continue to prioritise the needs of the most vulnerable, chiefly in children and young people’s services.

He said :”There are continued and quite strong pressures on services.

“We have to strike a balance between finding savings and efficiencies across every part of the council.

“No service is immune from the challenge to try and find savings.

“But we have to make sure that we do not put forward proposals that fundamentally undermine our ability to maintain the best possible services to our residents.

“We need to safeguard our most vulnerable and uphold our statutory responsibilities.”

In 2018, Wakefield’s children’s service was rated as inadequate as Ofsted inspectors said vulnerable children in care had been put at risk.

Last January, inspectors rated the service as ‘good’ and its leadership as ‘outstanding’.

It is thought to be one of the fastest turnarounds by any local authority in the country.

Referring to the success, Mr Balchin said: “We want to have a project that does not take us down the road of undermining our ability to improve in that area.

“We have made some good progress with our Ofsted inspection.

“We do not want to do anything that undermines children and young people in this district.”

Coun David Jones questioned the proposals to spend £10m of council reserves.

He asked: “Do you feel, as chief executive, that you are comfortable with the risks associated with this decision and the impact, financially, in the long term?

“Once the reserves are utilised, it is going to be a heck of a job to get them back again.”

Mr Balchin said: “Our intention for 2023 is to use a level of reserves which is prudent to avoid cutting any deeper into our services.

“But at the same time we have reduced our bottom line budget”

“I am satisfied that it will leave us with a level of reserves which is sufficient for the coming year to weather any storms.

“We would like to get to a position where we do not need to use reserves and have a budget that balances.

“It is our ambition to get to that position over the next two to three years.”