Staffordshire County Council balances its books but warns of shortfall
Staffordshire County Council has balanced its books and invested into services despite rising costs amid the start of coronavirus.
Chiefs said its budget for 2019/2020 – which had a shortfall of millions – was now sorted.
But the financial impact of coronavirus to the council is likely to be around £50 million –with around £38 million handed out from the Government.
Figures reveal the authority invested £210 million into school places, economic regeneration, highways and care for older people.
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Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: “This report covers the last financial year, including the period in March when the authority first began helping those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, so it does not begin to reflect the millions of pounds subsequently spent in that direction.
"However, it shows that despite the rising costs of care for older people and providing support to vulnerable children and young adults the council has still been able to invest millions of pounds in more school places, highways and economic regeneration."
The period – which includes March of this year – also saw the number of Looked After Children cared for rise from a peak of 1,257 last autumn to 1,218 in March.
In the current financial year, for 2020/2021, the council has already committed two-thirds of its budget to providing adult care and supporting vulnerable children.
And the authority has pledged to spend whatever it takes to protect those in need amid the coronavirus pandemic to ease the burden on the NHS.
Councillor Atkins said: "We have received around £38m in support from central government towards dealing with Covid-19, but – including planned savings that will not be made this year due to the pandemic – the current financial impact to the council will be around £50m.
"Councils must always be accountable for how they spend public money and we cannot borrow money to fund day-to-day services, so the longer term implications for this authority, particularly around the rising costs of adult care and children’s services remain a serious concern.
"We continue to work with Government to find answers to putting local government funding on a more sustainable footing."
