Dudley Council facing £9.4 million budget shortfall

Data analysed by the Access Social Care (ASC) charity shows £5.4 million has been slashed from Dudley’s local authority budget this financial year.

The data shows by 2025/26 financial year, the Conservative-led local authority will be balancing a £19.6 million budget shortfall.

In their annual budget, usually presented to the council in March before the start of the new financial year, Dudley council predicted a budget surplus in 2022/23 of £28.9 million, with £4.5 million left spare from their original budget of £24.5 million

In December, the council predicted £0.5 million should be slashed from the adult social care budget for the 2022/23 financial year.

And while there is a forecast budget surplus for the next financial year, there is currently a forecast deficit of £9.4m for 2023/24, representing “a significant risk”, according to the ASC.

It comes as the Conservative-led local authority discussed its medium term financial strategy at a cabinet meeting last December.

Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) are usually a four year plan which sets out the council’s budget requirements services that meet the needs of people locally.

The plan shows a council’s expectations and how the council’s finances will be structured and managed to support their vision for local people.

But Covid-19 has increased pressures on adult of social care budgets, and along with the new cap on adult social care, starting in April this year, local authorities will be concerned they are unable to match the government’s ambitions for adult social care.

Kari Gerstheimer, CEO and founder of Access Social Care, said: “Every day, millions of people across the country do not get the social care they are legally entitled to.

“Local authority budgets are not reflecting the unprecedented level of unmet need and people are suffering as a result. The system is also deeply unfair, with poorer areas suffering the deepest cuts to their social care budgets.

“The 10 per cent worst off local authorities have made more than 30 per cent cuts to their spending since 2010.

“Without additional funding, local authorities will struggle to make ends meet and stark health inequalities will continue to climb”.

It comes as a survey by the Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS) found 75 per cent of social care bosses at local councils were not confident – or only partially confident – they could fufil their statutory duties to meet their constituents’ social care needs going into this financial year.

Councillor Nicolas Barlow, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: “This analysis has not been shared with Dudley council and we don’t recognise the numbers quoted.

“There are no additional savings required of adult social care next year.”