Why parking charges may increase in Liverpool

Liverpool Council says it is looking at increasing charges for services such as parking to cover a predicted £29m overspend in its annual budget.

Council leader Liam Robinson said spiralling demand in areas like social services and homelessness had contributed to the figure.

However he said the authority was not on the verge of bankruptcy and he was "optimistic" for the future.

Mr Robinson told BBC Radio Merseyside: "There's lots of detailed work that's going on to make sure that we balance our budgets by the end of the financial year."

Mr Robinson spoke ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday where the council's mid-year financial update is on the agenda.

That update has predicted a £19m overspend on children's social care and £11.8m in homelessness provision, although small underspends in other areas have reduced the overall prediction to £28.8m.

Mr Robinson said the problem was a symptom of pressures facing large councils all over the country, particularly the demand on social services.

"I think the key thing from our perspective is that we're managing that very, very closely in terms of some of the overspends that we've got," he said.

"But one of the things we're really keen to get across is that Liverpool City Council is not...going bankrupt and we're in the right, stable position that we should be at this moment half way through the financial year."

Mr Robinson said every department was working to mitigate the predicted deficit, and increases in charges including for parking and on street skip permits were under consideration.

Particular focus was also on the use of agency staff and overtime spend, he said.

When asked if the deficit could result in job losses or the closure of services, Mr Robinson replied: "Obviously we'll be setting a new budget in February to kick in in April next year and we'll look at all of those different options, particularly when we get our financial settlement from the government later on this year."

Mr Robinson said he was confident that Labour would implement a "better deal" for local government than the previous Conservative administration.

"I think the future for the city is a bright one, we have got a government who sees Liverpool as an opportunity and wants to work with us in a way that actually the last government quite frankly didn't, for a lot of reasons," he said.

"So yes I'm optimistic, but I'm also realistic that these things will inevitably take some time."

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