Leeds City Council has frozen most recruitment and “non-essential” spending as it battles bleak financial prospects.
The local authority has to find more than £16m worth of savings over the next five months. The freeze includes restrictions on staff working overtime and on the use of agency workers, although a council report said a “small number of exceptions” could be made in some cases.
High inflation and soaring energy costs have swallowed up much of the council’s bank balance already this year. A meeting on Wednesday was told the authority’s financial position was “likely to get worse” than it is now.
