Worcestershire County Council faces £85m budget gap for 2027/28

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 12 Oct, 06:18 · Archive

Worcestershire County Council must close an £85m funding gap to set a balanced budget by March 11 for the financial year 2027/28. The council has warned that closing the gap will require difficult decisions that could result in cuts to services, with former leader Adrian Hardman suggesting the authority might end up delivering only statutory services it is legally required to provide.

To balance budgets in recent years, the council has drawn £41.4m from reserves and used £93.5m of exceptional financial support from government in the past two years. This emergency support allows authorities to borrow or sell capital assets to fund day-to-day costs, but the council acknowledges these are not sustainable long-term solutions. The council is forecasting an £8m overspend in 2026/27 even with £59.9m of additional emergency support, largely due to rising costs of adults' and children's social care.

Core services including highways, schools, waste disposal, home to school transport, libraries and public health are expected to see costs rise by £47m. Council leader Matt Jenkins has pledged that council tax will not rise by more than five per cent, which would generate roughly £20m additional income and cost an average Band D household an extra £88 annually. The council has invited residents to contribute to its budget consultation as it seeks to bridge the funding shortfall.

How it is being reported

• Worcestershire faces £85m budget gap as council warns of tough choicesCOUNCIL chiefs will have to close an £85m gap as they begin the process of setting a balanced budget for 2027/28.Malvern Gazette · 12 Oct, 06:00
• Worcestershire faces £85m budget gap as council warns of tough choicesCOUNCIL chiefs will have to close an £85m gap as they begin the process of setting a balanced budget for 2027/28.Worcester News · 12 Oct, 06:00

In this story: Worcestershire County Council · Matt Jenkins · Adrian Hardman · Worcestershire

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