Overspend 'will be double what was expected'

A COUNCIL is set to overspend its annual budget by an amount double that previously predicted, senior councillors are warned.

- By JOHN GREENWOOD

The reasons why higher-than-expected costs are threatening to push Calderdale Council into using more of its limited cash reserves to balance the books by next spring are the same, but the amount is predicted to be higher.

Three months ago, council Cabinet members heard the authority was set to break budget by £2.7 million by the end of the year, but the latest monitoring report predicts this will be more like double that - a £5.4 million overspend.

In 2025-26 the council's agreed budget for revenue - day-to-day - spending for the year was £249.8 million.

This is despite measures being undertaken to make savings showing some success, and extra amounts which were budgeted for the some areas, particularly social care.

Of around £6 million of savings sought this year, £5.86 million are described as “being achieved in full or are in-delivery” with £400,000 worth described as “offtrack”.