Council bans 'non-essential' travel and recruitment

Warrington Council has been forecast to overspend by £28m this financial year.

All but essential travel and recruitment has been banned by a council facing a £28m overspend during the current financial year.

Without making urgent savings, Warrington Council has been warned it may have to consider issuing a Section 114 notice.

These are issued by local authorities when they are effectively bankrupt.

Council Leader Hans Mundry said the Labour-run authority was in "no worse a situation than other councils".

In February, Warrington Council set a budget for 2024-25 that included a savings target of £15.9m.

Several factors have been identified for this year's predicted overspend.

Income from commercial properties is expected to be temporarily lower than forecast, something the council puts down to planned refurbishment works and new leases.

Meanwhile, costs continue to rise in areas including adult and children’s social care, special educational needs' provision, and tackling homelessness.

To try to save money, the council will only seek to fill "essential" job vacancies. There will also be tighter controls on overtime payments and spending on agency staff.

In addition, travel can only be authorised for the "essential delivery of service or in very exceptional circumstances".

As a result, meetings must now, wherever possible, be conducted remotely.

In a report, councillors have been warned: "If these actions are not introduced and followed - and the budgetary position continues or worsens - then the council would need to consider issuing a Section 114 notice or applying to the government for exceptional finance support."

Council leader Mr Mundry said urgent action was needed to tackle the predicted overspend.