Council left waiting on government funding request

Council Leader Jane Ashworth said services faced being "stripped to the bone" without the extra funding

Stoke-on-Trent City Council says its budget plans rest on a bid to secure an extra £42.2m from government.

The Labour-run local authority proposes increasing council tax by 4.99% and making £8m savings in the 2024-25 financial year.

However, it intends to increase spending on vulnerable adults and on children's services, which it hopes will be funded by the extra government money.

The budget plans, which also include cutting library hours and introducing a garden waste collection charge, have been backed by the cabinet group and will go before full council on 5 March.

The local authority expects an answer to its funding request from government by 1 March.

Council Leader Jane Ashworth said if the extra government support was not forthcoming, services faced being "stripped to the bone" and there would be a "massive struggle" to balance the budget.

The council intends to use the £42.2m Extra Financial Support (EFS) over two years to reorganise children's services, particularly for those looked after by the council.

It would include £24m for social care placements, £6m for investment in early intervention, £9.5m for "financial resilience" including redundancy costs, and £2.2m for interest payments.

Ms Ashworth said: "It’s a step forward in arresting our financial decline, stabilising our finances and starting to build a road to recovery.

"Our intention is to reduce our biggest costs, particularly the £58m we currently spend each year on children who are in the care of the local authority."

Council leaders have backed proposals for a 4.99% rise in council tax

She also said the plans included a £7m investment in services for 3,500 vulnerable adults.

The leadership has blamed central government and the previous administration for the authority’s financial position.

They said they were facing a funding gap of £30m when they took power following elections in May 2023, wresting control from a minority Conservative administration.

'Not nearly enough'

"We have now had our annual local government financial settlement - this was slightly better than we originally thought due to an increased social care allocation," Ms Ashworth said.

"But this is still not nearly enough."

Alastair Watson, cabinet member for financial sustainability and corporate resources, said: "For over a decade, government funding has been disconnected from council need. Over £170m has been cut out of council budget rounds since 2010."

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has previously said the government recognised the financial difficulties facing councils.

It said it had announced an additional £600m support package for councils across England, increasing their overall proposed funding for next year to £64.7bn - a 7.5% increase in cash terms.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has already learned is to receive an additional £2.5m as part of that funding package. This amount has been subtracted from the council’s EFS request.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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