WC still going down the pan despite government hand-out

Following last week's announcement by government on additional emergency funding for local authorities, Wiltshire Council's administration thinks this has reduced the chances of issuing a default notice.

On 2 July, the government said local authorities would receive an additional further £500m in a non-ring fenced grant to cover expenditure. The government also confirmed that it will introduce a new income loss scheme that will pay a percentage of all lost income from sales, fees and charges. This, together with the council's own measures, means reserves are not expected to be exhausted.

Before the announcement, the council's projected overspend was £37million. It is not yet known how much of the Government funding Wiltshire Council will receive.

Despite the additional cash, there will still be financial challenges ahead and the council is taking steps now to manage this, putting controls on spending on such things as training and consultants and imposing an external recruitment freeze.

Last week the council reverted from two Chief Executive Officers to one Chief Executive and its number of cabinet members went down from nine to eight, and portfolio carriers from 14 to 10.

A financial update will be provided at the Cabinet meeting on 14 July. You can view the agenda and reports at: https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=13070