KEY services face a funding gap of more than £3 million in Wokingham borough next year as social care pressures continue to mount.
This means council bosses expect to see less in income than they are anticipating will be spent on things such as social care and staff salaries – despite millions of pounds in income predicted from a council tax rise.
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According to a Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) budget report which outlines where savings and spending will come from in the next three years, this gap could increase to £4.5 million by 2023.
Graham Ebers, WBC’s finance chief, said: “From a strategic positioning, although it’s not ideal to have a funding problem of £3.2m, over a four-year period it is not stark and running away.
“It does not give the impression this council is financially unsustainable – that depends on us delivering all the savings in this plan.
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“Year one, in isolation, is not a pretty picture because it is saying we have an ongoing funding shortfall of £3.2m.
“However, I am confident that can be funded because we are relatively well off in terms of reserves.
“After funding that shortfall, I am confident we will have a general fund balance in excess of £10 million.”
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More than £5 million of spending on adult social care and children’s services is planned next year due to increasing demand for support, against savings of just under £2.5 million in these departments.
With an existing budget gap of £2 million, inflation pressures and reduced income from business rates collection, WBC is expecting to see a 2020/2021 gap of £3.19 million altogether.
This comes despite an additional £7 million expected from a growing tax-paying population combined with a council tax increase of 3.99 per cent next year – which includes a precept for social care.
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Speaking to the News last month, WBC leader Cllr John Halsall said: “With most of our money going to adult services and children’s services, it is very difficult for us to have anything other than a modest increase in council tax every year.
“It is impossible for us not to.
“The demand of adults and children’s services grows exponentially and I think will continue to grow.”
Councillors will vote on the authority’s medium-term financial plan at a meeting in February.
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