Wokingham Borough Council has revealed it needs to make savings of approximately £20 million over the course of the next three years.
A report to last week’s executive committee noted how it continues to face severe financial challenges as a result of reductions to public sector funding and growing pressures in providing its statutory services.
The report said: “It is estimated that Wokingham Borough Council will be required to make budget reductions of approximately £20m over the next three years, and all executive decisions should be made in this context.”
The meeting heard how the 2023/24 period has been a challenging year as a result of inflation, interest rates, workforce shortages in key areas and the wider cost of living impacting on the level of demand, delivery of services and adherence to budget provisions.
“Financial monitoring and governance continue to be of high importance to support delivery of the Council’s objectives” the agenda said.
“Throughout the year, the financial position has been monitored by officers closely, and reported in the quarterly executive reports.
“Significant work has been undertaken in 2023/24 to manage the Council’s budget position, from an initial £2.9 million overspend rising to £3.6 million reported in quarter two – to a reduced overspend position at out turn of £1.83 million.
The adult social care overspend of £0.37 million for the year represents a small (0.55%) variance against budget.
The overspend mainly relates to continued pressures from inflation, increasing market rates, and increased demand for services.
The children’s services department overspend of £2.55 million for the year was a result of pressure from rising numbers of children in care/care leavers, along with recruitment challenges and legal costs.
Home to School transport budgets overspent by £0.75 million through the impact of both rising demand and cost inflation.
Place and growth overspend of £0.23 million was predominantly as a result of delays in the implementation of new parking schemes, pressures on temporary accommodation, and the use of temporary staff.
In the context of the overall pressure on funding, Wokingham Borough Council will continue to review and reconsider all elements of its capital programme in respect of reducing costs, and ensuring alignment to the councils strategic priorities.
Cllr Imogen Shepherd-Dubey, executive member for finance and governance, told Wokingham Today: “Many years of severe under-funding from central governments has left local councils facing difficult decisions when we set our budget and plan our services.
“We will be consulting residents and organisations on some of those decisions later in the year, so it is too early to speculate on the potential impacts.
“What we can say for certain is that we will continue to focus on efficiencies and generating income to protect services and will protect those who need us most.
“We will also be calling on the new government to look at how services could be funded properly and with greater certainty in future years.”
