Stockport council in England is facing a severe financial challenge, needing to save £60 million in the coming years. While new charges are being considered for services like garden waste and car parks, a major issue has emerged, potentially costing the council nearly £250 million due to unfulfilled promises of additional funding for increased employer national insurance contributions.
Stockport council faces a significant financial challenge, needing to save up to £60 million over the next few years due to rising costs of local services. To bridge the funding gap, the council is considering introducing new charges for garden waste collections, car parks, and council tax as part of its budget plans. However, a major new problem has emerged that could result in a near £250 million bill for the council.
According to its finance cabinet member, Coun Jilly Julian, Stockport council was promised additional funding to cover the increased national insurance contributions for employers. This promised support, expected as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, a yearly allocation of funds to local authorities, has not materialized. At a recent cabinet meeting on February 4th, Coun Julian revealed that the council has received no extra money to offset the national insurance increases, leaving a massive financial shortfall. She stated, 'We have been told that we will be compensated for the direct impact for the council of employer national insurance contributions increasing. However, we won't be directly compensated for the entirety of the impact of that additional cost. We know that there's going to be a shortfall of £233 million from the funding that's been put forward in the final settlement, that's almost a quarter of a million pound hole in what we believed from the provisional settlement would be available to the council.'The Local Government Association (LGA) has also raised concerns about the impact of these national insurance increases. In November, the LGA's social care spokesperson, Coun David Fothergill, warned that the increases 'are likely to add significant costs for councils and the wider sector,' putting 'vital services at significant risk of collapse.' Stockport council has faced further financial setbacks, missing out on millions of pounds of additional funding through the government's Recovery Fund, a situation shared by very few councils in the country. However, the council has received a 5.89 percent increase in its core spending power for 2025/26. On February 27th, councillors in Stockport will vote on the proposed budget plans, which include the new charges for garden waste and car parks. The council is under increasing pressure to maintain funding for local services in the short term. Coun Julian described the situation as 'unjust,' but affirmed that the council would still set a balanced budget this year. She stated, 'The bones of it is, pressures exceed funding, it's that simple. For the 16th consecutive year there's insufficient funding with which we need to protect our most vulnerable residents, deliver vital social care services, and provide the universal services that all of our residents rely on.
STOCKPORT COUNCIL BUDGET CRISIS FUNDING SHORTFALL NATIONAL INSURANCE LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE COUNCIL TAX GARDEN WASTE CAR PARKING
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