Fears of more council cuts in Yorkshire as report warns over £240m shortfall

Unison claims that funding for local authorities across the UK is to fall £4bn short, placing more strain on already over-stretched services.

Now, as local authority leaders across parts of Yorkshire say they face "severe financial challenges", there are fears over further cuts. Already a number have made changes to spending, raising sums through savings or with new charges for services.

Coun Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of North Yorkshire Council (NYC) and executive member for finance, told The Yorkshire Post it had been dealt a £40m "wallop" in just this past year. With the loss of the Government's Rural Services Delivery Grant (RSDG), alongside changes to National Insurance, he added, it faced "severe financial challenges".

He warned: "We are predicting to see anything from a £30m to a £70m black hole two years hence. At the very best we are looking at a £30m shortfall, depending on how harsh the upcoming funding review is.

"Eventually, with that sort of deficit, we will have to look at non-statutory services. Everything, in terms of benefits to the taxpayer, will be under the microscope."

Sir Steve Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, said it has been 15 years of challenge with local councils dealt a "triple whammy" of blows.

Demand for adult and children's services has risen dramatically along with inflation, while he argued for a funding system that recognises deprivation in more metropolitan areas.

"All of these have added to the pressure on local authorities," he said. "But that is only part of the solution. We need more money in the system. And to look at things like Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the cost of children's services and try and help local councils meet these demands."

Unison has said its wider research, based on figures directly from local councils, found that many remain in a “dire state” despite a cash injection following Labour’s election win last year. It estimated that the shortfall, between what councils need to run services and what they receive, amounts to £4.1bn in 2026/27 - and £240m in Yorkshire alone.

The figure would have been far higher but for intervention from Westminster through the local government finance settlement earlier this year, said the union. But after more than a decade of austerity, councils are being forced to take increasingly drastic steps.

In Yorkshire a raft of measures have already proved controversial, with uproar over charges for school transport in some areas and parking in others. Local authorities are widely expected to raise council tax next year by as much as they can, to 4.99 per cent.

Now Coun Dadd, in North Yorkshire, said: "I don't think we will have any choice but to do that. We know it will be hard but we have a duty to statutory services and that has to be fulfilled. We will always protect adult and children's social care. That is a priority."

Unison calls for improved multi-year funding settlements for local councils to allow for more effective planning and to help restore financial stability. Regional secretary Karen Loughlin said: “Local authorities are being forced to make cuts that often hit the most vulnerable hardest, and more needs to be done to protect people across Yorkshire and Humberside.”

An MHCLG spokesperson said: “We’re turning the tide on decades of underfunding in councils in England, with £69bn available this year for councils - that's a 6.8per cent increase in cash terms. We are going further by fixing an outdated funding system to make sure money goes to the places and services that need it most, alongside multi-year finance settlements to give councils stability."