Council shaves £17.5m off budget deficit

Warwickshire County Council has reduced its budget deficit from £27m to just under £9.5m

Spending restrictions have helped to cut a council's expected deficit by almost two thirds, after service commitments were put on hold.

Warwickshire County Council had reported a near £27m gap between its budget and projected costs in September, but this figure has now reduced to less than £9.5m.

Financial reports show £13.5m is expected to be saved through tighter controls on managing staff and savings on catering, hospitality, training and development and attending conferences.

Some spending commitments have been put on hold, with £100,000 also saved on speeding and road and school safety.

Other areas of underspend include a forecast of £500,000 "largely due to delaying and stopping some activities" in economy and skills, and a reduced spending of £158,000 in public health.

The local authority had budgeted £401m for delivering day-to-day services and it now expects to spend an extra £41.6m, which is £5.4m less than what it was expected to be two months ago.

The financial projections and work to manage the council’s finances will be discussed by the cabinet on Thursday.