Council In Brighton Tackles Forecast Overspend Of £11 Million

Emergency financial controls are in place as Brighton and Hove City Council tries to reduce a forecast budget overspend of £11 million.

Increasing demand for children and adults social care – and rising costs – were among the pressures on council spending this year, councillors were told.

The council is also liable for almost £5 million as its share of an overspend on services that are jointly commissioned with the NHS.

At the council’s Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee yesterday (Thursday 13 July), chief finance officer Nigel Manvell offered some hope in the form of an “assumed recovery” of £8 million before the end of the financial year.

He said that another issue putting pressure on the budget was the nationally set local government employers’ pay offer which was higher than expected at 6 per cent.

Mr Manvell said:

“Recruitment and spending controls have been applied and that is an attempt to immediately start to address this forecast position and attempt to reduce costs.

“Directors will continue to work on developing financial recovery measures and other corrective action wherever they can.

“There is a need to review the capital programme and consider potential delays or potential reductions to the programme which could help to reduce the revenue financing costs in the future.”

Labour councillor Jacob Taylor said that the situation showed “a country in crisis and an economy virtually in freefall”.

Jacob Taylor, Labour Moulsecoomb and Bevendean

He said:

“Almost every area of public service, whether it’s national or local, is creaking under the strain of a broken economy and a national Tory government either unwilling or unable to take control and deliver what ordinary people actually need in their lives.

“We’ve got an NHS that’s in near-permanent crisis at the moment because of chronic underfunding, and that results in increased pressures on adult social care.

“Also, in adult social care, we have providers that are increasing their costs within a system that doesn’t work.”

Councillor Taylor said that Labour councillors owed it to residents to ensure that council finances were managed and came in on budget – and more difficult decisions were coming.

Green group convenor Steve Davis said that Councillor Taylor’s opening statement reflected an “incredibly difficult period” and called for unity.

He said:

“It was either the government’s fault we ended up in this financial position or it’s the Greens. Make your mind up.

“What disappoints me is for 13 years we stood side by side with you (Labour) against the yoke of Tory austerity. It’s the one cause we stood together on as progressive parties against this vicious vile attack on public services.

“With that controlled demolition of public services and £130 million of cuts over 12 years, try to balance a budget.”

Councillor Davis (pictured below) asked if the NHS could “shoulder” any more of the £5 million burden in services shared with the council and whether the measures would address future problems.

Mr Manvell said that the council shared the “pain and gain” with the NHS on joint services. Adult social care chief Rob Persey said that talks were under way with the NHS.

Mr Persey said:

“The integrated care board is in a challenging financial position themselves this year.

“They are having to manage a £60 million deficit but recent history shows we do manage to negotiate some bits through the year on this.”

Interim chief executive Will Tuckley said that the money-saving measures would be revised as “circumstances determine”.

He said:

“It is entirely appropriate for us to take these measures given the scale of these projections in terms of the overspend at the year-end. It’s worth saying we will be monitoring this extremely closely."

Conservative group leader Alistair McNair said that inflation was a worldwide issue and the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic were unprecedented after the “necessary” years of austerity.