The UK Government has said it’s open to talks with Wirral Council as it struggles with a growing deficit of nearly £50 million.
Wirral Council leader Janette Williamson has revealed the struggling local authority's financial situation has rapidly deteriorated as it battles inflation and soaring costs across the board.
Top officials this week warned councillors to “ hope for the best and prepare for the worst." The council is set to consult with residents about where budget cuts may fall.
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Cllr Williamson said the situation at her council demanded urgent government support.
Responding, a Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson told the ECHO: “We are working with councils to understand the impact inflation will have on their budgets and stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns.
“We have made an additional £3.7bn available to councils this year in recognition of their vital role. This includes an additional £23.4m for Wirral Council to ensure they are able to deliver key services through the Local Government Finance Settlement 2022/23.
“This figure is made up of not only additional Government grant funding (such as the Social Care Grant and 2022/23 Services Grant) but also retained business rates and council tax.”
Councillors at a recent Wirral Council meeting discussed how the cash-strapped local authority would approach a second round of budget cuts and assets to be sold to close the gap.
After the meeting, it was voted that residents would be asked for their priorities when it came to services in order to inform where millions could be saved through cuts and minimise impact on the public.
Councillors proposed using reserves and asked for more information on the costs of services as well as assets that could be sold. These will be proposed to councillors on November 9.
Councillors also expressed hope for more government funding in December when the UK government decides what money is given to each council. A motion on a government bailout is expected
MP Mick Whitley, who represents Birkenhead also said he had called for an urgent meeting with the Levelling Up department related to funding for Wirral Council.
In response, Council leader Janette Williamson said: “We welcome any opportunity to talk to the government about an increased settlement to cover the spiralling costs of providing services for our residents. We are still waiting for a response to my letter to the then Chancellor to ask for a meeting to look at this issue.
“The figures here relate to last year’s budget, where it was again clear that the settlement offered by the Conservative was woefully inadequate. Sadly they went nowhere near addressing the £224 million taken from Wirral Council’s budget since the Conservatives took power in 2010.
“In the last 12 years the Conservative government has refined the art of making out that it’s giving out extra funding, when really it’s just talking about money it’s already handed out. It’s a bit like the PPE contracts, where it counted every individual glove as an item, despite the fact they all came in pairs.
“It looks like it’s happening again, as attention rightly turns to how much less funding councils will be given to pay for vital services as a result of this government’s latest spectacular feat of mismanagement of the economy.
“The Tories will be hoping they throw people off the scent by recycling old stories about funding they’ve already committed, ringfenced in one pot or another but the reality is this; Year after year, authorities like Wirral are being given less and less with which to pay for the services people rely on - services which because of inflation and other factors are costing more and more to deliver.
“Sadly, given the unfunded tax cuts fiasco, I fear the next settlement we get from this government will be even less in real terms than we’ve had to manage on in previous years. Unlike a windfall tax on energy companies, this unprecedented borrowing will inevitably lead to public sector cuts."
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