FINANCIAL plans are being put in place by Barnsley Council bosses to make better use of the cash it requires to keep essential services running - after it was revealed expenditure has had to be slashed by a fifth in the last decade.
Shock figures revealed in a cabinet report showed the extent austerity has had on the local authority’s budget, with a 21.2 per cent reduction in core spending power being recorded since 2010.
Reduced central government funding has been blamed, while plans to save another £32m over the next three years have been identified.
However, finance bosses revealed each council directorate has been tasked with finding ten per cent savings amid warnings more multi-million pound shortfalls.
The report said: “The delivery of £140m per annum efficiency savings over the past 13 years has fundamentally transformed our approach to service delivery, leading to a 40 per cent reduction in our workforce.
“We’ve innovated the way we provide services, meaning we haven’t had to stop delivering the services that our residents and communities rely on the most.
“As a result of increasing demand and inflationary pressures, our transformation plan is not sufficient to balance the books over the longer term.
“As part of our future planning, we have begun to formulate an alternative plan to address the shortfall of circa £15m, which includes exploring difficult decisions that may need to be taken which will have an adverse impact on the services that our residents and communities rely on the most.
“All services have been tasked with undertaking a review to understand the survival minimum operating models with the objective of delivering a minimum ten per cent annual efficiency saving.
“The first phase of service reviews took place over 2023/24, releasing £7.4m annual savings to support the 2024/25 budget, while the second phase will take place over 2024/25, and the plan is to deliver a further £9.6m per annum across 2025/26 and 2026/27.”
Despite the extreme financial challenges the local authority and others across the country are facing, bosses have reiterated there are currently no concerns regarding a Section 114 notice being issued - effectively placing the council in bankruptcy.
“Local government funding is insufficient to fund the obligations placed on it,” the report added.
“The inequity and disproportionate nature of funding cuts, coupled with the rise in demand for services, far outweigh any increases in funding, meaning more councils will reach crisis point and, ultimately, S114 notices.
“For the sixth year in a row, the 2024 local government finance settlement provided a single-year settlement.
“Multi-year settlements must be provided to enable effective longer-term planning.
“Moreover, while additional funding is always welcome, the timing of funding announcements makes it hard for us to use this effectively, mainly to cover immediate cost pressures rather than developing permanent, long-term, cost- effective solutions.”
Council leader Sir Steve Houghton praised finance bosses for their diligence and said the local authority is ‘one step ahead’ in its planning.
“Our focus in Barnsley is to deliver excellent services while investing in the borough - we do this because we want Barnsley and its communities to thrive.
“We have a balanced budget for 2024/25 and our financial position is well-managed, but things are difficult.
“We’ve had to make some tough decisions, but we can, for this year, keep delivering the services people need./
“We estimate that we’ll spend £35m more on day-to-day running costs next year.
“We predicted that this would be the case, and we’ve set aside some money to help pay for this extra pressure.
“In the last two years, the cost of children’s and adult social care services has risen by £40m - that stretches any organisation.
“While we received some additional government funding, it hasn’t made up for the huge cuts since 2010 and doesn’t cover the cost of the increased demand.
“Because of this, we’re delivering efficiency savings through a significant transformation programme, redesigning our services and processes and using technology to deliver better services.”
