North West council facing budget woes despite being “financially well run”
Trafford Council has warned that it is facing a £26m budget gap for the next financial year, despite the findings of a CIPFA review that concluded the local authority was "financially well-run".
Cllr Tom Ross, the council's leader, said Trafford is the lowest funded council in Greater Manchester and called for more funding from central government.
He said: "CIPFA recognised we are a financially well-run council but also recognised the funding issues we face.
"We called for a fair funding review last year but this has not happened and we are now seeing the consequences."
Cllr Ross's comments come ahead of an executive council meeting on Monday (21 October) in which councillors will discuss a draft budget report.
According to the draft report, the final CIPFA report has yet to be released, but initial feedback has identified strengths and challenges facing the council.
Under strengths, CIPFA has said Trafford has a "clear, comprehensive and timely reporting" on its financial position, a shared understanding between members and officers of the financial challenges, and an "experienced and respected" finance and procurement team.
It also notes that there have been "historic relative funding challenges" which have created structural funding issues.
Additional challenges highlighted by CIPFA include inherent demand pressures, an "uptick in older people demand", reliance on rental and commercial income and the fact that the council spends 60% of its net budget on education and social care.
Cllr Ross added: "It is becoming harder to deliver key services within budget and so we will consult on reintroducing a charge, in line with the vast majority of other councils across the country and indeed some within Greater Manchester to help us to continue to provide much needed services across the borough."
According to the council, Trafford has suffered £300m of cuts over the last decade and a half.
The Local Government Association recently identified a £6.2bn funding deficit for local government over the next two financial years.
Councils across England have meanwhile experienced an 18% real terms reduction in core funding since 2010, according to figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Adam Carey
