Financially-troubled Derbyshire council faces further cuts to reduce ‘£33m’ budget deficit

The Conservative-led council has already ceased all non-essential spending, implemented a conditional hiring freeze, and introduced a number of cost-saving measures, actions and cuts to reduce its estimated budget deficit to £33m for the current 2023/24 financial year.

Changes since September have included increasing school meal prices by about 41per cent, potentially reducing the number of people who can claim for adult care, putting plans for a new Staveley bypass on hold as well as reviewing how it rolls out its library service.

Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Budget, Cllr Simon Spencer, stressed at a Full Council meeting on November 29 that it has to be recognised that unless the authority tackles the challenge of the budget it will be a ‘travesty for Derbyshire’ and he called for all councillors to engage with a pending scrutiny committee meeting.

He told the meeting: “We are making a genuine offer to all members in the council chamber to engage with us through the scrutiny committee. You can ask questions, raise challenges and come forward with proposals.”

The council has argued that many councils across the country are experiencing similar external, financial issues due to exceptionally high inflation rates, Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, and it has stopped all non-essential spending and implemented a hiring freeze, except for essential jobs, and it has conceded that it is facing more challenges and tough decisions.

It has stated that the budget forecast overspend on Children’s Services and Safeguarding and Education alone stands at £17.901m.

Cllr Spencer has said the most important element under consideration with the council’s over-stretched budget is the increased demand on services particularly for the needy in society including the elderly, the young and children.

The Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Alex Dale, has joined with both the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Safeguarding, Cllr Julie Patten, and Cllr Spencer in calling for a cap on huge fees and costs from private providers for children’s services and he also called for more funding from the Government while Cllr Lewis has argued there needs to be a supportive change in legislation to help children’s services.

Despite already taking measures to address its budget, alongside lobbying the Conservative Government for funding, the council was disappointed with the Autumn Budget after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he was planning a potential £19bn reduction in Government spending on public services and he wanted to see councils becoming more financially efficient.

Cost-control measures which have already been introduced by the council include: Reducing the use of agency staff; Reducing overtime; Stopping non-essential conferences, travel or training; Reducing print, IT equipment and stationery spending; Only carrying out health and safety repairs on properties; Ceasing or delaying procurement for supplies and services and postponing projects still in the planning stage, where expenditure is non-essential.

The council’s forecast overspend has also been reduced by departmental savings, the use of reserves and the receipt of additional grant funding and its new finance report says the council is looking at reshaping its community library project and pausing the proposed £166m Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route project.

It has also claimed that it has been necessary to dramatically reduce its entitlement cash-figure limit to £23,250 for those eligible for adult care to sustain the service which means those with more than £23,250 of capital are likely to miss out on subsidised support.

The council previously allowed a generous £50,000 capital and disposable income limit for people to benefit from the local authority’s subsidised adult care services but the cabinet has now agreed to lower this limit to £23,250 so only those with less than this reduced figure will be eligible.

Opposition Labour Group Leader, Cllr Joan Dixon,and fellow Labour councillors have been critical about the Conservative administration’s cost-saving measures regarding school meals and adult care but Cllr Spencer has urged them and all councillors to engage with the discussion on the budget through the scrutiny committee.

Derbyshire County Council has confirmed that all council departments have been tasked with identifying the financial pressures their services are under as well as the savings or efficiencies that could be made as part of the process of setting the council budget in February, for the financial 2024/25 year.

The council’s Improvement and Scrutiny Committee meeting, will be held on Thursday, December 14, when committee members will be asked to consider the council’s budget-setting process and the plan to take a number of budget savings proposals to the cabinet meeting on January 11, 2024.

The Improvement and Scrutiny Committee meeting will also address the Your Council Your Voice public consultation which is open until December 17 and it will work to establish how the public feedback will feed into the budget-setting process.

Derbyshire County Council has stated that it is facing budgetary pressures far greater than experienced before, due to factors beyond its control.

These pressures include higher than anticipated inflation and higher prices for fuel, energy and materials, meeting the cost of wages, and the continued unprecedented increase in demand for vital adults’ and children’s social care services, according to the council.

In September, the council announced a forecast 2023-24 overspend of £46.4m, but by November, it announced this forecast overspend had been reduced to £33m, and its efforts to reduce this overspend have been running alongside planning for the 2024-25 budget.

The December Improvement and Scrutiny Committee meeting will consider the process that is being followed and will be asked to note the council faces a significant financial challenge to produce a balanced revenue budget for 2024-25.

Cost savings and efficiency options are being developed and savings and efficiency options are being put forward and they will be consulted on appropriately before any decisions are made, according to the council.

The Improvement and Scrutiny Committee will meet again on January 22, 2024, to consider the budget and provide feedback to cabinet on the proposals.

The budget will then be considered by cabinet at its meeting on February 1, 2024, before going to council when it meets on February 14, 2024.