Liverpool Council has to get “much better at prioritising resources” as authority leaders acknowledged the scale of financial problems ahead.
The city council’s cabinet met to agree its medium term financial strategy (MTFS) for the next four years which has outlined the scale of cuts it will face
Almost £90m will need to be found in savings by Liverpool Council by 2026 according to its own estimates - despite a raft of cost cutting measures to make ends meet for the coming financial year alone.
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Cabinet members agreed the plan, which will go before the city’s full council to be formally adopted, without debate.
In a tweet attributed to the authority however, it was said difficult days lay ahead.
It said: “More tough decisions are on the horizon, but we acknowledge we have to get much better at prioritising our resources.”
The budget for 2022/23 is to be agreed by the executive next week, ahead of being signed off on March 2 by the full council.
It seeks to establish how Liverpool will make savings of £24.5m for the impending financial year and provide a balanced budget.
A report to cabinet members warned that “difficult decisions may need to be made in order to achieve strategic outcomes given the funding constraints” adding that the council must use its “scarce resources effectively” moving forward.
It is forecast that by 2025/26, council net expenditure will reach more than £600m, up from £426m in 2022/23, with services thought to cost £683m within the next four years.
The funding gap is expected to reach £44m in the next financial year, increasing to £60m in 24/25 and £87m the year after.
The report said that the difficult decisions would need to be taken “this year and particularly over the next two years to achieve sustainability.”
Discussing the budget proposals for next year and beyond, Cllr Jane Corbett, deputy mayor and cabinet member for finance and resources said it had been a “long process” and detailed scrutiny of the plans would take place before full council formally green lit the plans next month.
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