Elected mayor of North Tyneside defends council finances amid £9.5m pressure
by Austen Shakespeare · ChronicleLiveThe elected mayor of North Tyneside has defended the council's finances amid a £9.5m deficit.
Dame Norma Redfearn spelled out the council's financial situation following questioning from Conservative councillors. While acknowledging the council's predicted £9.5m deficit and the potential for future cuts down the way, the mayor strenuously denied North Tyneside Council was facing bankruptcy.
In response to queries from Tory councillor Lewis Bartoli on whether the council faced immediate financial risk, Dame Norma said: "As far as I am concerned, we are where we are, we will have to make decisions just as anyone will.
"We will look at and take into consideration where there are possibilities to make those cuts, they will have to be made, that is the situation. Whoever is dealing with that, it will have to be done. As far as I'm concerned at this present time we haven't made the decision where the cuts will be because we haven't got the final figures."
When asked directly if the council faced bankruptcy, Dame Norma said: "I just want to say quite clearly there is no risk of this council going bankrupt".
The authority's director of resources, John Ritchie also added he had issued a draft 'section 25 statement', meaning the council is confident in its current level of cash reserves in the event of financial challenges.
But Mr Ritchie added that issuing section 25 statements "is getting harder" but "we are candid about that." Council reports show that the current £9.5m deficit is a marked improvement from a previously predicted £14m.
Mr Ritchie also stated that the council was not at a "section 114 stage" but informed councillors that staff continued to monitor the situation and were keeping eyes on other local authorities. A section 114 notice is issued when a local authority effectively declares bankruptcy on the belief that it will exceed what it can afford to spend.
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