Council needs to save £86m, says auditor

Auditors say Kent County Council faces serious financial challenges

Kent County Council needs to save £86m in the next financial year, according to a report by an external auditor.

The report was presented to councillors at a meeting at County Hall in Maidstone on Thursday.

Increasing demand for services and rising costs caused by inflation are putting pressure on the authority's finances.

The report said "some difficult decisions" would need to be taken, with some services needing to be withdrawn or scaled back.

The council is already having to make savings of £58m this year.

The rising cost of social care is behind the current crisis, according to Peter Oakford, cabinet member for finance.

He said the council was directing funds away from other areas to meet the "increasing demands and complexity that we're seeing in adults' and children's social services".

"The cake's not getting bigger," he said, and the council could not "recut those slices".

Paul Dossett, from auditor Grant Thornton, told the meeting he thought no national government could afford to meet the funding demand for social care.

Protestors were outside County Hall before the meeting

While the meeting was going on, protesters were gathered outside County Hall to demonstrate against cuts to waste services.

In May the council put forward plans to close or reduce hours at some waste and recycling centres to save money.

"Clearly there is a transfer of costs to residents who are going to have to travel to get rid of their rubbish and are going to have to make other arrangements to dispose of rubbish," said Julian Saunders, Labour Councillor for Faversham Town Council.

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