Black Country councils forecasting multi-million-pound deficits due to Covid
Council bosses in the Black Country have forecasted multi-million-pound deficits in their upcoming budgets due to the Covid pandemic.
It comes after the Government's spending watchdog said coronavirus has delivered a £9.7 billion hit to local authorities across the country.
Sandwell Council has predicted a shortfall of £13.8 million for the upcoming financial year of 2021/22.
Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Council is forecasting a deficit of £29.6 million by 2023/24.
Figures have not been provided by the councils of Dudley, Staffordshire or Walsall.
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has created additional financial pressures for councils.
The National Audit Office [NAO] said support from central Government following the coronavirus outbreak last year had managed to avert a "system-wide financial failure".
However, it said local government finances remain a "cause for concern", with many councils facing the prospect of cutting services in order to balance the books.
Support
The Government has so far announced £9.1 billion in additional support to offset the increased finance pressures - which amounts to 17.6 per cent of authorities' total revenue expenditures.
However, that still leaves a "funding gap" of £605 million, with 30 per cent of authorities reporting shortfalls equivalent to 5 per cent or more of their pre-pandemic expenditure levels.
Sandwell's cabinet member for core council services, Councillor Wasim Ali, said: "This is the first time we have needed to use one-off balances to balance the budget but the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges and it’s important to say that the council maintains a strong balance sheet and a comfortable level of reserves."
Wolverhampton's cabinet member for resources, Councillor Louise Miles, said: "With no clarity over future years funding from Government, and a forecast deficit of almost £30 million by 2023/24, we are always having to look ahead to see how we can bridge that gap.
"We set our budget for 2021/22 last week, but immediately we are now looking at what needs to be done to balance the books in the future."
Dudley's cabinet member for finance, Councillor Steve Clark, said: "In the short term we have received significant funding to support our work in tackling the impact of coronavirus.
"In the longer-term we will continue to balance the investment needed to provide hundreds of services and providing value for money for everyone in Dudley borough."
Value for money
Councillor Mike Sutherland, cabinet member for finance at Staffordshire County Council, said: "The global pandemic has affected the running of this authority in many ways, including reassigning staff to delivering food parcels and PPE, delaying planned savings programmes and reducing the amount of council tax and business rates collected.
"At the same time, we have spent more than we have received in emergency support from central Government to help residents and businesses through the crisis.
"Nonetheless, we are a stable, well-run authority and delivering value for money to our taxpayers is at the core of everything we do.
"Accordingly, we are able to carry on looking after residents now, while investing in Staffordshire’s communities, education and infrastructure for the future."
A Walsall Council spokesman said: "Details of our budget and financial implications have been considered in cabinet meetings throughout the year.
"They are available to view in detail on the Council’s Committee management and Information System [CMIS] under cabinet."
