‘Difficult decisions’ will have to be made to try and plug a £4m gap in next year’s budget, Wokingham Borough Council has warned. 

The council has said it will need to explore a “range of ideas” for further savings or revenue increases to address the large shortfall, which still remains despite having already made “efficiencies” – a term often used to imply cuts to services. 

Council leader Clive Jones called Wokingham “one of the worst funded local authorities in the country” and confirmed the financial difficulties felt across the country are “hitting us extremely hard”. 

Setting a budget for next year will be a “challenge”, the council has stressed, with costs inevitably set to rise as inflation currently exceeds ten per cent.  

READ MORE: Wokingham and Bracknell MPs respond to new PM Rishi Sunak

The money it receives as income is “generally fixed”, and in some cases is falling, the council has said. 

“Pretty much all the things we do are costing us more money and we just don’t have more money to pay for them,” Cllr Jones explained. 

“So, difficult decisions will have to be made and we are determined to make these decisions following discussion and open debate […].” 

Against these headwinds, the council has committed to “protecting the most vulnerable” by ensuring vital services continue, including those for people with learning difficulties, physical disabilities, domestic abuse victims, children’s services and “supporting people through [the] cost of living crisis”.

READ MORE: CQC report for Lovat House Residential Care in Wokingham 

Executive member for finance, Cllr Imogen Shepherd-Dubey, “cannot emphasise how serious the situation is”, explaining that if the budget could not be balanced then the council “cannot continue to function”. 

“Setting the council’s budget is a complex process but we have quite simple principles – we will look to make efficiencies wherever possible, and we will protect our most vulnerable people wherever possible,” she added. 

The process of agreeing a budget for next year will be “open to scrutiny” from councillors and members of the public before it is decided on in February 2023. 

READ MORE: Ofsted rates Wokingham playgroup as 'requires improvement'

Decisions will be made through a series of open meetings, where everybody can attend and ask questions. Ideas for potential savings or ways to generate more income will be discussed at the Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee tomorrow (October 26).  

There will also be a series of further public meetings to discuss other budget proposals and the findings from these discussions will be used to draft a budget – which will then be discussed and agreed on next February.