Northumberland County Council warns its financial position is 'unsustainable'

The leader of Northumberland County Council has repeated warnings that the local authority's current financial position is "unsustainable".

Rising costs for children and adults' care mean the council is facing an overspend of just under £6 million by the end of the year. The Conservative-led council has also called for more certainty from the Labour Government on funding.

The local government settlement, which sets out how much money councils will receive from Westminster, is set to be revealed later this month. Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the council's cabinet, leader Glen Sanderson said more money was needed from the Government if services were to continue.

He said: "It has been made very clear to the Government that councils like ours, that provide the services that we do to adults and children, need to have funding. Without proper funding, all that happens is we have to find savings in other areas in order to pay the increasing budget for adults and children's care.

"We have had to find getting on for £50 million over the last five years to fund these services. It is unsustainable for councils like ours to continue in this way.

"I look forward to seeing a really good settlement from the Government when we get it. At the moment, the signals are not ones that make me confident, but we will work together and find a way forward, I am sure."

Last month, leading Tory councillors warned council tax bills were likely to have to rise next year despite the Government's promise of a real-terms 3.2% boost for councils in England. The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 includes a new £600 million Recovery Grant for areas most in need, an increase to the Social Care Grant by £680 million, a new £250 million Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant.

Cabinet member for corporate services Coun Wojciech Ploszaj reiterated the issues the council was facing. However, he remained confident of delivering a balanced budget both this year and next.

He said: "A lot of work has gone on in recent days and I am fairly confident we will have a good, balanced budget. The position is challenging, but we are doing everything we can.

"We have extraordinary pressures in adult's and children's services. I know that directors are working very hard to find solutions to that until Government comes in with a permanent solution to these challenges.

The total overspend anticipated by the end of the financial year is £5.996 million. This is down from July's figure of £6.766 million.

Northumberland Labour leader Coun Scott Dickinson believed the local government settlement would be positive for the county.

He said: "The Government is providing a clear path to stability. They are providing multi-year settlements which are crucial for me as they will allow the council to change, reorganise and modernise council services that are lacking that certainty.

"Northumberland County Council has lost £150 million from its core spending after we have suffered through austerity for 14 years. We have lost all of our youth work and hundreds of staff have been made redundant.

"We now have a commitment from the national Government to a core spending power increase and multi-year deals that will allow councils to plan properly."

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