Council could increase service costs to fill budget gap

Mid Devon District Council says it is contending with a potential funding shortfall of £450,000 next year

A Devon council's potential funding gap has more than doubled following changes to some government funding.

Mid Devon District Council said it was contending with a potential funding shortfall of £450,000 next year, which is well above the £191,000 hole it thought it had to fill.

It has blamed the loss of a grant for rural councils and the increase in National Insurance charges announced in October's budget.

A revised budget report recommends councillors make up the shortfall by increasing fees for some of its services, including land searches for planning, providing waste bins – and burial plots.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council's cabinet will review the updated budget report and be asked to approve the increased charges on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said it recognised the challenges local authorities were facing.

A spokesman said: "We are injecting £69 billion into council budgets across England to help them drive forward the government's Plan for Change."

Mid Devon said it believed the changes to NI would cost it roughly £370,000 and that it expected to be compensated for around a third of this by the government.

The cabinet report said work was still ongoing to finalise financial details so a balanced budget could be recommended to February's cabinet meeting.