BCP warns of tax hike, service cuts and asset sales over 2027/28 £38m budget gap
The council says rising service costs and social care demand is to blame.
Residents are “highly likely” to see cuts to services and council properties sold off, alongside a potential above-inflation council tax rise to help tackle an expected £38million gap in next year’s budget.
The council has said that this budget gap is due to increasing costs of services and rising demand in social care.
Chief Finance Officer Matt Filmer said: “The overspend that we’re forecasting in here is driven mostly by demand and pressures for our most vulnerable in society, adults and children.
“What that means is we can’t just turn the tap off. If people come into care, we have to look after them.”
Chief Executive Aidan Dunn outlined measures being taken inside a ‘Situation Room’ to help bring spending under control.
He said council directors meet weekly, clearing diaries to scrutinise contracts, halt non-essential spending, and enforce a recruitment freeze.
Mr Dunn said managers are “trying to say no as often as possible” to replacements outside statutory social care roles.
Councillor Mike Cox, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, said the council is seeking support from the government to be able to balance the budget for next year.
When asked if the council would be increasing council tax to above 4.99%, Cllr Cox said: “I think it’s likely that we will be asking for exceptional financial support, which might include that.”
On the prospect of service cuts, Cllr Cox said: “There hasn’t been any decisions at the moment in respect of cutting services, reducing services down.
“However, given the amount of the challenge that we’ve got, that is highly likely.”
One option the authority is asking for is government to fully fund its historic Dedicated Schools Grant deficit.
BCP has warned that without the government funding the remaining debt, it will “deepen the significant financial pressures the council is facing”.
Cllr Cox said: “If the government doesn’t give us the extra 10% on the DSG, then that means that we will have to pay that over £38 million pounds.
“We’d always planned that we would cover that by selling properties.
“However, we are probably going to have to sell properties in order to balance the books this time."
“We haven’t got that many assets to sell. So we’re at the moment between a rock and a hard place.”
Without a balanced budget, the council faces government commissioners stepping in.
Cllr Cox said: “If we are unwilling to make the decisions that is required to balance the budget, then Matt will have to issue a 114 and commissioners would come in and make the cuts that we may not have been willing to do."
“So we’re going to try and avoid that like the plague.”