COUNCILLORS will meet next week (17 September) to discuss the immediate financial challenges faced by North Somerset Council and the work under way to enable the organisation to balance its budget at the end of the year.
They will also discuss the growing pressures for the years ahead as demand for services continues to increase.
A spokesperson said: “The council has faced unprecedented pressures on its services in the first three months of this financial year and without immediate radical action the council faces an overspend of £23.5 million by the end of March.
“The council has a legal obligation to balance its budgets and spend in year, failure to do so would put the organisation in the territory of issuing a Section 114 notice, which means that income is not sufficient to meet the costs of providing services.
“In these circumstances, the government would step in and reduce the council's service delivery to the bare essentials, with significant impacts on the local community and area.
“This is the situation that many councils across the country now find themselves in.”
Cllr Mike Bell, leader of the council, said: "We had to make some really tough decisions to set a balanced budget this year, but already costs for social care and other key services mean that without further immediate measures we will face a significant overspend.
"Our challenge is set against a backdrop of 15 years of national funding cuts meaning that we have already had many successive years of identifying ever more difficult savings.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of vulnerable children and adults needing social care support alongside an increase in the complexity and cost of their need, which is increasing demand for social care services, housing and home to school transport.”
Although the council have successfully identified nearly £12 million of savings plans, by implementing a range of immediate spending controls, with spending postponed or cancelled wherever possible, a further £11.6 million needs to be found to balance the budget and avoid a Section 114 notice.
Cllr Bell added: "Radical measures are needed and we are treating this as a financial emergency.
“We will always prioritise services for vulnerable people, but everyone should be prepared for non-essential services to be reduced or withdrawn.
"As councillors, alongside our committed leadership team, we will do everything within our power to avoid the worst outcomes.
“We will continue to lobby central government relentlessly for additional and fair funding for our valued services.
“However, we must be honest that the community will see and feel a difference and we cannot go on as we are without further action."
As well as managing the immediate in-year pressures, the council is also remodelling the impact growing demands and escalating costs will have on its budget in future years.
This has increased the budget gap for 2025/26 and the following two years to £30 million, underlining that this is not a one-off financial challenge.
"None of us, not staff or elected members, joined local government to find ourselves in this position," the councillor added.
"Some of our decisions will be unpopular. People will be angry. We will do our best to ensure our communities have all the information they need so they understand why we are having to take such action.
"We hope that in return our communities will support each other and work with us to continue to make North Somerset a great place to live, work and visit."
North Somerset Council's Executive meets at 3.30pm on Tuesday, September 17 at the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare.
This is a public meeting that members of the public are welcome to attend.
The reports being considered at the meeting and a link to watch a live broadcast are available on the council's website
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel