Southampton City Council deficit falls by £2.2m

Southampton City Council has been implementing savings in a bid to balance its budget

The deficit in Southampton City Council's budget has reduced by a further £2.2m.

Cuts have been taking place across the authority in recent months to tackle its precarious financial position.

In October, the council identified £16.6m of savings, including increasing parking charges, cutting IT jobs and reducing the arts centre budget.

Deputy leader Simon Letts said there was "some hope" it could be balanced by the end of the financial year.

Last summer, the deficit in the 2023/24 budget was forecast to be almost £30m.

A report presented to cabinet on Tuesday said, 11 months into the year, the deficit was now down to £5.4m through the implementation of cost saving and control measures.

Mr Letts said: "Overall the numbers have come down again by another £2m (from the previous month) and it gives me some hope we can deliver a balanced budget in year by the time the books close."

Any deficit outstanding at the end of the financial year is set to be covered by the council's reserves.

The Labour-run council was given £121m of government support through a capitalisation directive last month.

It had previously said it faced effectively going bankrupt without help and was one of 19 local authorities given a capitalisation directive.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the council to outline how it plans to restructure its services to balance the books in the long-term has been confirmed.

Details on how it intends to deliver the required "transformation" will be presented to councillors before they have to be submitted to government by 27 August.

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