Council already £4m over budget as Government cuts loom

A COUNCIL in Yorkshire is already facing a 4m overspend during the current financial year amid growing fears that debts could deepen amid the Government cuts in spending.

York Council has run up the multi-million pound overspend in only the first quarter of the financial year as demand for residential and nursing care increased, while income from car parking fees has fallen.

Early indications from the first three-months suggest that the overspend in the adults, children and education department alone will be almost 2m.

Council officials have stressed that they are confident that the overall 4m overspend – which equates to about three per cent of the 118m annual net budget – can be tackled before the end of March next year.

Similar cash pressures were reported 12 months ago, but a council spokeswoman claimed “prudential financial management” allowed the authority to deliver services within its overall budget for the last financial year.

However, opposition councillors have maintained that the impact of the public sector cuts could make the authority’s task of clawing its way back to financial parity much more difficult.

The Labour group’s corporate services spokeswoman, Coun Julie Gunnell, said: “The council seems to be struggling again and not to have learned lessons from last year when it found itself in a similar situation.

“In the current climate when the coalition Government is making sweeping cuts to the public sector, it is even more crucial that the council gets a firm grip on its finances.”