Somerset County Council in £24m overspend warning

The chief executive is warning of a £24m overspend at the county council

Somerset County Council is facing a £24m overspend this financial year, unless it makes huge savings in the next few months.

The council has said this year's overspend is "unprecedented" and is almost double compared to last year's.

Part of the overspend is due to social care becoming more expensive and a £100m reduction in government funding.

Chief executive, Pat Flaherty, said: "Each year you have to balance your budget. There is no plan B."

'Measure of success'

The council is also expecting further £40m funding cuts in the next financial year.

Although the council has not yet overspent, this is a half-year forecast warning to managers about the potential impact of overspending.

A 10-point plan has been sent out to its workforce which includes a recruitment freeze, a review of current staffing levels and voluntary redundancies.

A goal of spending less money on agency staff has also been imposed.

Independent county councillor, Mike Rigby said: "We've seen these sorts of plans in previous years and to be fair to them they've had some success if your only measure of success is bringing your spending down within the budget.

"But that's part of the reason why we've got children's services in the inadequate rating for three years."

He added that balancing the books meant the council could not provide "the services that the people of Somerset need".

Filling social worker posts will continue as part of a long-term plan to improve social services.

"Staff are used to the fact that we've cut budgets year on year, unfortunately that's the territory we've had to be in.

"Our staff know that we look for efficiencies but this is not any more worrying than previous years," added Mr Flaherty.

Last year the county council spent £12m on agency staff which contributed to the overspend. Part of this was spent on filling social worker vacancies.