Council finance row over £88m budget deficit

Wakefield Council is facing a significant budget deficit over the next five years

A council has been accused of "financial incompetence" after it confirmed it faced a £88m budget deficit over the next five years.

Wakefield Council's Labour leader Denise Jeffrey said last week the authority would face "tough decisions" over services as it attempted to plug a shortfall of £33.8m in the next financial year.

The leader of the council's Conservative opposition said the shortfall was "no surprise" and blamed Labour for pursuing "political vanity projects".

The council's Labour group said all authorities were facing "financial difficulties as a result of Conservative budget cuts and economic mismanagement".

Nadeem Ahmed, leader of the Wakefield Conservative and Independent Group, said they were "rightly shocked and appalled" that the council was looking at a "Labour black hole" over the next five years.

“Wakefield Council has been under unbroken Labour control for 50 years, so it comes as no surprise after decades of raising council tax to the hilt, borrowing, spending and wasting local people’s money, that the chickens have now come home to roost," he said.

Nadeem Ahmed said Labour were letting the people of Wakefield down

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ahmed’s statement also accused the Labour group of pursuing projects which were "unaffordable and unfunded".

“Wakefield residents deserve so much better, he added.

Council leader Denise Jeffrey has previously warned of "tough" choices over services

A Labour group spokesperson said councils faced "financial difficulties" due to the previous Conservative government cutting funding.

“In Wakefield in 2010/2011, 56% of council funding came from national government, compared to just 6% now," a spokesperson said.

They said "callous cuts" had made it difficult to balance budgets while providing "vital services".

Cabinet members are expected to adopt a medium-term financial strategy which sets out a timeline for delivering a balanced budget when they meet later.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.