Warning over City of York Council's £11m overspend forecast

Officers have warned the city cannot afford to "keep spending"

City of York Council must take "immediate action" to cut outgoings after a report predicted it would overspend by £11.4m next year.

The paper said the council would "exhaust its reserves" if it did not reduce its spending.

It highlighted rising costs in adult and children's social care as a major cause.

Last week councillor Katie Lomas warned "significant" cuts to services were "inevitable" without changes.

The report states the council has a net annual budget of £141m but in the 2023/24 financial is expected to spend an additional £11.4m.

It says: "This is a significant overspend that is of serious concern and it is very clear that the Council cannot afford to keep spending at this level.

"The general reserve is £6.9m and, whilst we have other earmarked reserves that we could call on if required, continued spending at this level would quickly see the Council exhaust its reserves.

"Given the scale of the forecast overspend, immediate action is needed to bring spending down to an affordable level, both within the current financial year and over the next four years, to safeguard the Council's financial resilience and stability."

The report comes as council finances have been thrown into the spotlight after Birmingham City Council - the largest local authority in Europe - declared itself effectively bankrupt.

Meanwhile, in West Yorkshire, Kirklees Council is attempting to save £47.8m to avoid the same outcome.

Last month a BBC investigation found that the average council now faces a £33m predicted deficit by 2025-26 - a rise of 60% from £20m two years ago.

Car parking charges in the city centre will increase

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, City of York Council is considering a raft of money-saving options.

The authority has already agreed to raise parking charges by 10p an hour, which will raise about £145,000, and to freezing recruitment, agency, and overtime wherever possible.

Councillors will be urged to look at other measures at a meeting on 14 September.

Those include further car park price increases and beginning to charge for domestic garden waste collections, which officers said could raise between £720,000 and £1.5m a year.

A reduction in expenditure on highways maintenance and further reductions in ward funding will also be considered.