by Stephen Slominski
A new report by public service union UNISON reveals a staggering £350 million shortfall in council budgets across the South East for the upcoming 2024/25 financial year, putting essential services and jobs at risk.
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Conservative-controlled Hampshire County Council leads the region with an £86 million deficit, while Lib-Dem-led Eastleigh faces the largest shortfall among the county’s district councils.
Steve Torrance, UNISON South East regional secretary, said, “Councils are on their knees. Ministers don’t seem to care about public services or how hard local government has been hit over the years.”
Local authorities are expected to make significant cuts in services, including waste collection, libraries, and leisure centres.
“Essential services can’t run on thin air. Attempting to balance the books by putting people out of work will mean even more pain,” added Torrance.
Cllr Rob Humby (Con), leader of Hampshire County Council, said: “For a long time now, we’ve been very open about the huge financial pressures facing the County Council. We anticipate a budget shortfall of £86m for 2024/25 which will need to be met from our reserves, rising to an estimated two-year budget shortfall of £132m by April 2025. Hampshire is in a better financial position than most other county councils currently, and while our finances are stable until 2025/26, we do need central Government to fundamentally change the way that local government services are funded or reduce what councils are legally required to deliver”.
Eastleigh has the largest shortfall of any of the county’s district councils, with a £1 million gap. Last year, the council, which has £522 million of borrowing on its books, announced job cuts in response to the recent rise in interest rates. UNISON is urging for reforms in how councils are funded to tackle the huge reduction in central government resources since 2010. The union is also calling on Jeremy Hunt to provide extra grant funding in the autumn statement.
“Unless the government intervenes with significant extra funding, those job losses and service cuts are inevitable across the country, and every family will feel their impact,” warned Torrance.
UNISON says other Hampshire councils facing shortfalls include Labour-controlled Southampton City Council with £21.2 million, New Forest with £699,000, Test Valley with £400,600, Hart with £307,000, and Havant with £60,000.