Bid to beat deadline on council budget deficit

Roger Evans said 'I'm confident that we can balance our budget by the end of this financial year'

A new report into a council's finances shows they have worsened and the authority will have to effectively declare itself bankrupt if savings of £1.2m cannot be found.

The report, due to be discussed by Shropshire Council's cabinet next Wednesday, covers the first five months of this financial year.

It predicts an overspend of £35.5m by the end of the financial year if changes are not made - a total £1.2m above the permitted overspend amount.

The Liberal Democrat- run authority has said it is confident it can reduce its deficit in time.

A report delivered last month, which covered the first four months of the financial year, predicted the council would end it almost £900,000 over the allowed overspend.

At that point the council declared a "financial emergency" and said it was looking for urgent savings.

If it is not able to find the required savings, it will have to issue a Section 114 notice, which could mean the government appointing commissioners to oversee council spending.

The council said steps had already been taken to reduce the overspend and Roger Evans, the councillor responsible for finance, said: "It's something that we need to get under control now."

He said there would have to be "difficult decisions" and the council was talking to the government about a Exceptional Financial Support.

He said the council's financial position was "mainly due to a year-on-year decrease in government funding and soaring costs".

He added: "We inherited this budget from the previous Conservative administration and the savings they failed to make."