Council may use £10m reserves to balance budget

Half the budget cuts are 'permanent', a councillor said

A council plans to use £10m of its reserves as well as making £10m of cuts to help balance its budget.

Officials at Westmorland and Furness Council have also recommended the authority raises council tax by 4.99% for the next financial year.

The council's cabinet member for finance Councillor Andrew Jarvis said it was "critical" to identify and deliver savings to close financial gaps.

The council will decide whether to adopt the proposals later this month.

Mr Jarvis said more than half of the budget cuts proposed were permanent and the measures were “not about cutting services”.

“Our aim is to improve delivery for our communities and residents and doing that in a way that is more efficient and effective for all,” he said.

Proposed savings include restructuring the way the local authority manages its waste services.

A report detailing the budget said no frontline services would be impacted by the cuts, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council will also use £10m of its reserves to help balance its budget.

“We know that we cannot keep relying on the one-off use of reserves,” said Mr Jarvis.

“We do need to work now to identify savings and efficiencies to make most of the synergies of becoming a unitary council."

Westmorland and Furness Council was formed in April 2023 following the axing of Cumbria's previous county and district councils.

The budget also proposes starting to charge those who own unfurnished and vacated homes in the region through the empty homes council tax premium after one year rather than two, and then to charge a 300% premium for properties which are still empty after 10 years.