Oldham is set to spend £26m over budget this year - meaning it could be forced to use its reserves to plug the gap
Councillors in Oldham have taken aim at the local authority’s leadership over what they have called the borough’s ‘unsustainable’ financial situation - and have warned its reserves 'could be gone' if no action is taken.
Council leader Arooj Shah, of Labour, said the figure is due to ‘unexpected pressures’ on children’s services and adult social care. The council has so far spent £5m more than expected in those departments, along with £2m more on economic growth - which includes services like planning, highways and waste management.
“If they didn’t manage it last time I have no confidence in them being able to change that this time. And this year is looking significantly higher.” Oldham council currently has £57m in reserves and are expected to end the financial year with £42m. Should this money be used to plug the budget gap as it’s currently projected, the reserves could drop down to as low as £16m.
She said: “We’ve spent the last 18 months looking at our budget situation. But the reality is, the money’s not in the system so we are going to have to make some really difficult decisions.” Coun Jabbar said: "We're committed to working hard to bring down the projected in year pressures, and a lot of work has already gone into bringing that down. I do think we need to acknowledge though that there are some things which are just outside of this council's control.
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