Council leader urges Chancellor to “stand up for Rotherham” over local authority spending cuts

Finance bosses have warned that Rotherham Council is facing an overspend of more than £18m – well above the £11m estimated last month.

More than £10m of the overspend is due to “unbudgeted costs” as a result of the war in Ukraine, inflation, energy price increases and the impact of the 2022/23 pay award.

The report adds that the overspend will be met through “significant use of the council’s reserves”, as well as a medium term financial strategy.

RMBC is not expecting additional funding from the Government to help mitigate the costs, and instead anticipates a potential reduction in Government funding.

The report puts the overspend down to placement pressures within children and young people’s services; the cost of school transport; and economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Monday 17 October, the fourth Chancellor in four months, Jeremy Hunt announced plans to cut public spending, with council services expected to be slashed.

Councillor Chris Read, leader of RMBC, has written to the Chancellor stating that “further cuts to local authority grant funding fills us with dread”

Coun Read said: “The Tories have already forced £200 million of cuts onto Rotherham Council over the last 12 years.

“It simply cannot be right when mortgages and rents are rising, energy bills have spiralled, that the government decides its ordinary people in Rotherham who should pay the price for their incompetence.

“It’s the very young and the very old, the most vulnerable, who are hit hardest by cuts to public services.”

“No one was even talking about spending cuts before the Tories tanked the economy.

“We need the government to be filling in the gaps being left by inflation, but instead councils across the country are now braced for further cuts.

“Councillors are legally required to set balanced budgets each year but communities like ours have already paid a heavy price over the last decade.

“The prospect of more to come is grim.”