By George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporting Service
TAMESIDE Council insists jobs and services will not be cut, despite still needing to find £6.5 million to balance the books.
Executive Cabinet members were told on Wednesday, November 26 that more money still needs to be saved, even though almost £10 million worth has been trimmed.
But Cllr Hugh Roderick, the authority’s executive member for finance and resources, was adamant the extra will not come through job losses or slashing services.
He said: “The council’s position does remain resilient despite these pressures. It’s also worth noting what we aren’t doing – we aren’t threatening frontline services, and we aren’t cutting jobs.
“Our resilience gives us a space to act responsibly and avoid decisions that we can’t like.
“We are protecting public services wherever possible and by acting now, we are safeguarding the capital’s long-term strength and keeping our focus on delivering for our residents.
“We are working to protect residents. We know what we will face because of the ongoing financial challenges. £6.5 million in savings must be found by the end of the financial year.”
The meeting heard how £9.9 million of savings have been found to reduce a forecasted budget deficit of £17 million.
And Cllr Roderick said the biggest pressures are from inflation and in children’s social care, which is over budget by £6.6 million.
Costs have been brought down through decreasing reliance on agency workers and of Tameside’s annual budget of £681 million, £339 million is spent on social care.
Plans to recoup cash includes reducing non-essential spending, better financial monitoring and service-led plans to address overspends and improve cost-effectiveness.
If the savings cannot be found, the council will need to use its finite reserves to plug the gap. The pot currently has £27.537 million.
He added: “Pressures that have caused this shortfall are rising demand in social care, and obviously children, and in inflation.
“These are significant pressures that are not unique to us, but we are particularly at risk for them.
“The actions being taken have included tightening control for non-essential spend, strengthening financial monitoring and furthering service-based recovery plans for these directorates.”