Royal borough says budget gap is worsening

A council has said its finances have worsened by about £1m a month since July.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, which asked the government for exceptional financial support (EFS) in May, said its financial outlook remained "challenging" and could deteriorate further.

A report to Wednesday's Cabinet meeting said this year's forecast overspend had risen from £9.9m to £12.4m, excluding contingency funds.

Councillor Lynne Jones, in charge of finances, told the meeting the authority had the lowest baseline budget in the country and had no reserves.

She highlighted "mounting pressures" in adult and children's social care, including more people in nursing homes.

Councillor Jones said changing work patterns had also reduced parking income.

However, she said a new in-house residential children’s home to support three children would be financially positive.

The council was paying more than £13m a year in interest on its debt of more than £200m, she added.

The independent councillor said the authority was continuing to correct previous years' financial statements, which she said "cannot be relied upon".

She said the cost of repairing items such as lamp-posts, fencing, railings, play parks and trees had been incorrectly deleted previously.

She also blamed "historic decisions to reduce council tax" for the authority's predicament.

Ms Jones said discussions with the government over EFS were continuing.

Council leader Simon Werner said a recent audit of the council's finances, by accountants Grant Thornton, was "truly terrifying".

He said the problems were caused by "some terrible decision-making in the past".

A Liberal Democrat-led administration took control of the authority from the Conservatives following the 2023 local elections.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.