Royal Borough to take action to address serious financial challenges and set new priorities
This week, the RBWM Cabinet will discuss the scale of the financial challenge facing the council. Two reports about our current and future budget position will be discussed, along with work to address the financial challenges.
These show a forecast overspend of almost £5m against this year’s budget, set in February – and over £10m over the next four years.
Whilst the Royal Borough faces particular challenges, local authorities across the country are struggling to balance their budgets. The Cabinet will discuss these challenges and launch the budget process for 2024-25. The council says it is already working hard to close the budget gap for this year and taking action to address overspend in areas including adult social care and environmental services.
The council says that it is improving the way in which it manages contracts and procurement and looking at ways to get more value from its assets and from investment partnerships.
Over the next few months, it says it will be developing proposals to balance the budget for the future and to agree a new set of priorities for the borough. These will be brought to Full Council next February, where it will agree a new Corporate Plan and Budget for 2024-25.
The council aims to work in partnership with local communities, businesses and voluntary and community organisations to address these challenges.
It will hold a series of discussion events over September and October, to shape priorities and generate ideas for future ways of working. This will be followed by a wider public consultation in December. More information about how to join these conversations will be shared over the coming weeks.